Alan Berkenwald, MD

An idiosyncratic romp through the history of organized medicine

Being opioid-dependent means dealing with attractions and cravings that never go away--and seeking help for things that have gone away.

Drugs, such as were available to mid 19th-century regular physicians, where usually mineral in origin. Primarily because of their speed of onset and severity of action, they were initially favored over botanical derivatives for they quickly authenticated the power of a physician's intervention.