Heroin was a Bayer brand name from German heroisch (heroic), because users felt powerful — it was marketed as a safe, non-addictive cough medicine, one of pharmaceutical history's greatest catastrophes.
A highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, originally marketed as a cough suppressant.
Coined as a brand name by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in Germany, from German heroisch (heroic), because early users reported feeling heroic and invincible. The German word comes from Latin heroicus, from Greek hērōikos (of a hero), from hērōs (hero). Bayer trademarked Heroin and marketed it as a non-addictive alternative to morphine and codeine — one