Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong

by Paul A. Offit

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE that heroin wasn’t what it was claimed to be. By 1902, at least a dozen cases of addiction and some infant deaths had been reported. By 1905, the evidence was overwhelming. Because heroin crosses the placenta, infants born to heroin addicts suffered symptoms of severe withdrawal. Traces of heroin could also be found in breast milk. In 1906, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry stated, “The habit is readily formed and leads to the most deplorable results.” By 1910, doctors were fully aware of the dangers of heroin, and its use declined. Bayer, on the other hand, didn’t stop advertising the drug as safe until 1913. By 1918, more than 200,000 people living in New York City alone were addicted to heroin. In 1924, Congress passed the Heroin Act, making manufacture and sale of the drug illegal. As a consequence, heroin went underground.