One interesting point was that, prior to sulpha drugs, let alone penicillin and its cousins, heroin was one of the only effective treatments of tuberculosis. Not a cure at all, but as a palliative and cough suppressant, it was something. They actually make the fleeting argument in this article that due to the epidemic of TB at the time in Finland, virtually the only way the country functioned was through this large scale treatment of symptoms.
Tags: children's chewable morphine, cocaine, Finland, heroin, tuberculosis