A Brief History Of Opioids In The United States

New York Attorney General Letitia James also announced that for the first time, an advertising company that worked on Purdue Pharma's OxyContin account has settled a lawsuit accusing it of falsely marketing opioids as safe in what is believed to be the first hundred and tenth lawsuit filed in connection with the opioid crisis.

The advertising company, titled Just Make Money Advertising Company, has agreed to pay $350 million within the next two months and will not take on any more opioid clients. "We are saddened we were not able to communicate the dangers of highly addictive painkillers while still making loads of cash," a representative for JMMC stated. "But we will happily take a large amount of taxpayer money intended for opioid prevention as punishment."

In addition to the landmark settlement, here is a helpful timeline of other key events throughout U.S. history as the nation grapples with the widespread overdose deaths and opioid addiction:

September 9, 1789 - The First Congress passes the Would It Kill You Doctors to Prescribe Something Act.

1861-1865 - During the Civil War, medics use morphine as a battlefield anesthetic. Many soldiers become dependent on the drug. War reenactment participants will continue to use period-appropriate morphine during mock battles for the next several hundred years.

1893 - The Bayer Company releases new "Heroin Gummies, Now In Cherry Flavor!" targeting children as young as three months old.

1914 - Congress passes the Harrison Anti-Drug Act, effectively putting an end to heavy narcotic use by requiring users to fill out a short form and submit a $15 processing fee every time they need some more morphine.

See ? the opioid crisis was practically solved by 1914. But, like the National Debt, my laundry pile, or anything else that seems like it should have been taken care of by now, the opioid crisis persisted and even grew worse over the subsequent hundred-plus years.