Why morphine matters.

• Position: List - Brief article

Richard J. Miller is a professor of pharmacology at Northwestern University and author of the new book Drugged: The Science and Culture Behind Psychotropic Drugs (Oxford University Press), in which he argues that morphine is the most significant chemical substance our species has ever encountered. In April, Miller told reason three reasons why he believes this is true:

1 Medical value. Morphine is a drug isolated from the opium poppy and can be transformed into heroin using a simple chemical reaction. Opiate drugs like morphine and its derivatives, including oxycodone and codeine, are the best and most powerful drugs for treating pain, the most common complaint that we have in medicine. Surgery would be impossible without the use of drugs like morphine.

2 Economic impact. The economies of several Third...