The medical field has always been one of the most profitable areas within the IP history. We have investigated some of the world known brands to find out what they have been registering and creating since they began and we found a couple of surprises. Some of the biggest medical trademarks began selling drugs, and by drugs I mean the ones currently considered illegal. The point is that those companies were selling drugs before they were considered illegal. Let’s look at some of the examples.
Bayer, which is known for the Aspirin miracle that cures headaches used to sell heroin back in 1.898. They claimed it cured coughing right away and even helped people be more active. It was called heroin because the people who took it felt like heroes who could do anything. They sold and even sent free samples of this miraculous medicine until 1913, when they found out how addictive and harmful was.
Another drug considered as a useful medicine was cocaine. One of the most well known brands who used it to provide an exciting result to those who drank it was Coca-Cola. They used coca leaves to produce their drinks. But this wasn’t the only company who used them; the Mariani wine was made with coca leaves as well and even sold in pharmacies to cure neuralgia, sleeplessness or despondency. Even the Pope Leo XIII recognized he used to drink it and he was on every piece of advertisement. They stopped selling these products around 1903.
The last of the drugs we found being sold legally was opium, which was also sold in pharmacies as a remedy against asthma, depression or even to calm children down when they didn’t stop crying. The last one was called the Stickney & Poor elixir made with alcohol and opium, children obviously went quiet right away with a tea spoon of this liquid.
Irean Navas
