Dreser didn’t have to work hard to convince Bayer executives to launch the new drug. But first they had to come up with a name. Some of the workers wanted to call it wunderlich, meaning miracle. But Dreser preferred the name heroisch, meaning heroic. In 1898, Bayer launched their new drug, calling it heroin. Aspirin, which physicians worried might cause gastritis, could be obtained by prescription only. Heroin, which was believed to be much safer, could be purchased over the counter.
