Heroin in the USA was not always sold surreptitiously in darkened alleys. It used to be available, without prescription, on the shelf of the local drug store.
Friedr. Bayer & Co., a German chemical company, introduced Heroin (with a capital "H") in 1895 as the brand name of its new cough suppressant which it believed (quite incorrectly) to be non-addictive. The drug was also sold by Bayer as a cure for morphine addiction until Bayer realized, with a great deal of embarrassment, that it metabolized into morphine in the body and was actually more addictive. Until 1914, it could be legally sold over the counter in the United States.
The name was based on the German word "heroisch" which means "heroic" or "strong."
The Versailles Treaty in 1919 stripped Bayer of some of its trademark rights to Heroin, which is why "heroin" is now a generic term for the drug and not capitalized.
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