Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> But maybe heroin wasn't common in Germany and therefore oxycodone was pre- in Germany?

Heroin was first marketed by Bayer, a German pharmaceutical company in 1898. That's where the name 'heroin' comes from so oxycodone was definitely not pre- in Germany.

Now, in nazi Germany, opium and products derived from it might have been harder to come by because of import sanctions (that's why methadone, a fully synthetic opioid, was developed in Germany in 1937). But that would apply to oxycodone just as much as heroin.

So no, the author is just full of shit and trying to impress his uninformed readers.




Wow, thanks for that, I've never read the Wikipedia article on Heroin and I didn't know:

"The head of Bayer's research department reputedly coined the drug's new name, "heroin," based on the German heroisch, which means "heroic, strong.""




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: