Pick Your Poison

Caffeine as an antidote in the poisonous narcotism of opium

This pamphlet discusses the use of caffeine and coffee as a means of counteracting the effects of narcotic poisoning. Campbell gives an account of administering strong coffee intravenously to someone near death who’d taken a fatal amount of laudanum, an opiate. The patient regained consciousness, the ability to breathe on his own, and control of his muscles after the injection. Laudanum is a powerful opioid ingredient in many patent medicines and home remedies in the 19th century. The pamphlet describes how Campbell treats the ill effects of overuse of one mind-altering substance with another, which illustrates the common use of those drugs in medical practice in 1800’s.