Q&A: Where Did the Word “Heroin” Come From and Why Are Addicts Called “junkies”?

Question by Mork the Stork: Where did the word “Heroin” come from and why are addicts called “junkies”?

Best answer:

Answer by txgirl_2_98
Felix Hoffmann, of Bayer in Elberfeld, Germany created heroin as a medicine 11 days after inventing aspirin. Afraid of the possible side effects of aspirin, Bayer registered heroin (probably from heroisch, German for heroic, chosen because in field studies people using the medicine felt “heroic”) as a trademark.

As far as why addicts are called junkies…Webster’s definition of the word is: a person who derives inordinate pleasure from or who is dependant on something

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