Nature’s Toxic Gifts: The Deadly Story of Poison: Common poisons Europeans used – My Comments

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[Notice that cocaine was a poison! Notice the massive Jewish push for the legalisation and wide use of cannabis. It's not strictly a poison but it's proven to be bad for you. Arsenic was in a paint that was used for dishes and walls. But, as a race, we move forward as our science improves. This is merely progress. And we ALWAYS PROGRESS! Jan]

When prehistoric hunters first dipped their arrows in snake venom, we turned nature’s toxic gifts against one another for the first time in history. It would not be the last.

Over the centuries, different lethal concoctions have been in vogue, and the popular pick was generally whatever could be plucked off the local herbalist or apothecary’s shelves. "A poison in a small dose is a medicine," said Alfred Swaine Taylor, a 19th century toxicologist, "and a medicine in a large dose is a poison."

Classic poisons like hemlock, nightshade, aconite, foxglove, opium, and strychnine were used to treat a range of ails, from the humble head cold to heart conditions, and even worn as makeup. Toxic metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic were ingredients in medicines lining pharmacy shelves as late as the 20th century.

For as long as we’ve needed to cure, we’ve also been tempted to kill—and poison has provided the means.

Source: popularmechanics