This book traces the global chemical history of cannabidiol (CBD), which is a compound that originates partially from hemp (the fiber), marijuana (the popularized term for medicinal/recreational use), and cannabis (the species sativa). It also argues about the position that CBD is in today and the heritage established by chemists over the course of its development. Each term associated with the plant spans centuries of development and cross-culturally became an object of cultivation and commerce. Humans have explored cannabis' complex chemical possibilities with the hope that it would offer pain relief or some type of mind-numbing portal to other existences. As such the trio and their many incarnations have been and will continue to be an integral part of the past, the present, and the future. Known as cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of the drug, it is one of some 100-plus known cannabinoids; offshoots of the original plant that are isolated and, in some cases, chemically altered. Just as with any supposed pharmaceutical marvel, chemists are at the center of this narrative. In order to understand its historical roots, central to CBD's discovery was the efforts of scientists who worked in separate eras and regions. These included, Americans Roger Adams and Allyn Howlett, and the Bulgarian-born Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam, along with a throng of others. They influenced a generation of students and changed the face of cannabis research into the 21st century. What does its history tell us about the future of chemical products like CBD? This brief will explore the chemical heritage that formed across a complicated nexus of global events. These are the bonds that tie.

This Brief takes the reader on a chemical journey by following the history for over two centuries of how an opiate became an opioid, thus spawning an empire and a series of crises. These imperfect resemblances of alkaloids are both natural and synthetic substances that, particularly in America, are continually part of a growing concern about overuse. This seemed an inviting prospect for those in pain, but as the ubiquitous media coverage continues to lay bare, the levels of abuse point to the fact that perhaps an epidemic is upon us, if not a culture war. Seeking answers to how and why this addiction crisis transpired over two hundred years of long development, this Brief examines the role that the chemistry laboratory played in turning patients into consumers. By utilizing a host of diverse sources, this Brief seeks to trace the design and the production of opioids and their antecedents over the past two centuries. From the isolation and development of the first alkaloids with morphine that relieved pain within the home and on the battlefield, to the widespread use of nostrums and the addiction crisis that ensued, to the dissemination of drugs by what became known as Big Pharma after the World Wars; and finally, to competition from home-made pharmaceuticals, the progenitor was always, in some form, a type of chemistry lab. At times, the laboratory pressed science to think deeply about society's maladies, such as curing disease and alleviating pain, in order to look for new opportunities in the name of progress. Despite the best intentions opioids have created a paradox of pain as they were manipulated by creating relief with synthetic precision and influencing a dystopian vision. Thus, influence came in many forms, from governments, from the medical community, and from the entrepreneurial aspirations of the general populace. For better, but mostly for worse, all played a role in changing forever the trajectory of what started with the isolation of a compound in Germany. Combining chemistry and history in a rousing new long-form narrative that even broadens the definition of a laboratory, the origins and future of this complicated topic are carefully examined.

This brief traces the story of one of our most common medicines - aspirin. On a journey involving science, diverse characters, shady business deals, innovative advertising and good old-fashioned luck, Rooney and Campbell describe how aspirin was developed and marketed on a global scale. Starting at the beginning of the twentieth century, the authors explain the use of aspirin during the First World War, the development of competition drugs such as ibuprofen during the interwar years, and the application of aspirin to heart disease in the 1950s and 1960s. On a broader level, Rooney and Campbell show that the development of America's modern pharmaceuticals was a complex weaving of chemistry and mass culture. They argue that aspirin's story provides a way to understand the application of complex chemical formulas in medical results. This brief is of interest to historians of chemistry and medicine as well as the general educated reader.

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