Dills Balm of Life was made by the Dill Medicine Company, Norristown, PA. Founded in 1872 by W. William Dill, it was still in business in 1971. The bottle in our collection is from c.1910. On its label states that it contains 1.5 grains of opium/ fluid ounce! This is a 2 fl oz bottle and one grain (grs) is equal to ~65 mg. Therefore, the entire bottle contained 3 grains x 65 mg = 195 mg of opium. It was not a controlled substance at the end of the 19th century when the company was established. The prescribed amount for an adult as stated on the bottle was 1/2-1 teaspoon (2.5-5 ml) every hour. That is about 10-50 times the safe amount (10 microgram/kg. body weight) described in pharmacopea texts today. Many users became addicted or died. This was rectified first, in 1906 when Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act, a precursor of the FDA to reduce false claims, and in 1915 when narcotics were finally regulated in drugs. This bottle is mostlikely from between 1906 and 1915. Description by Andrew Spielman.
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