Once upon a time, you could order heroin from Sears.
Not a book about heroin.
Not heroin-related paraphernalia.
Actual heroin.
Around the turn of the 20th century, Sears, Roebuck & Co. offered a kit containing two vials of Bayer Heroin, a syringe, two needles and a carrying case.
The price?
$1.50.
Before Amazon, apparently there was Sears.
Wait. Bayer made heroin?
Yep. That Bayer.
Heroin, or diacetylmorphine, had first been synthesized in the 19th century. In 1898, the German pharmaceutical company Bayer began commercially marketing it under the brand name Heroin.
And it wasn’t being marketed as an illicit recreational drug.
It was medicine.
Heroin was promoted as a treatment for cough and respiratory illnesses. Even more remarkably from today’s perspective, it was initially promoted as a supposedly less-addictive alternative to morphine and was proposed as a treatment for morphine dependence.
Minor detail:
Heroin is also highly addictive.
That became increasingly apparent.
How could Sears possibly sell this?
Drug regulation in the United States looked very different at the beginning of the 20th century.
The modern system of testing, approving, prescribing and controlling drugs that we’re accustomed to today simply didn’t exist yet.
The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was an important early federal law addressing adulterated and misbranded drugs. Federal narcotics regulation expanded further with the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914, which imposed registration, recordkeeping and other requirements involving opium, morphine, heroin and coca products.
So something that sounds completely insane today—a heroin kit arriving through the mail—existed during a period when both medicine and government were still figuring out how these drugs should be used and regulated.
And Sears really did sell almost everything
It’s also worth remembering what the Sears catalog once represented.
Before online shopping, the Sears catalog brought an enormous marketplace directly into American homes. You could order clothing, furniture, farm equipment, appliances and even entire house kits.
And, for a time:
Two vials of heroin.
One syringe.
Two needles.
One carrying case.
I suppose the carrying case was a nice touch.
The Sears general merchandise catalog eventually disappeared in 1993.
And now we have Amazon.
Some things are no longer eligible for Prime delivery… ;)
Public health is weirddddd.
*Sources linked in the blog! :)
Don’t forget to check out other Public Health is Weird episodes!
Don’t miss out! Sign up for the Eeks Weekly! :)
Work with Me? Perhaps it’s a good match. ;)
You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.
Follow Blooming Wellness on Facebook.
Follow Eeks on Instagram here.