History
The process for synthesizing black tar heroin was discovered through the joint works of C. R. A. Wright & G. H. Beckett in 1874, while trying to synthesize gamma-monoacetylmorphine. Both believed they had succeeded in achieving their goal, but soon found that morphine has only two replaceable hydroxyls and that the original substance was theoretically impossible to synthesize under the conditions. Having learned this, the two men realized that they had stumbled upon the first successful synthesis of Heroin (Diacetylmorphine), as well as the two monoacetylmorphines, 6-MAM and 3-MAM. The following year, Wright and Beckett published their results in Journal of the Chemical Society.
By 1935, the pharmacological work of Eddy & Howes revealed that heroin is quickly hydrolyzed by the human body into 6-MAM, an easier to prepare and more stable substance. These results provided the impetus for attempts at deliberate synthesis of 6-MAM. It was between then and 1943 that 6-MAM started being used for recreation. The effects of unsanitary intradermal, intramuscular, and intravenous use made their way into American medical literature in 1943, with Wound Botulism being related to these methods.
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