MovieChat Forums > The Deep (1977) Discussion > Did the deep water preserve the morphine...

Did the deep water preserve the morphine?

posted 12 years ago by ruffian82
2 replies | jump to latest

I never thought of this as a kid. Now I'm almost 50, and I'm curious...I mean, I am certain different formulations of chemicals lose or gain their potency.

Look how many times old nitroglycerine is discovered and used as a plot device to great effect.

But morphine ampules? Over thirty years? Is the kingpin planning on doing a fake deal, or is there something I don't know (I'm sure there is) about IV morphine in glass...did the cold and water pressure preserve it? Wouldn't it start to lose its potency the moment it hit the surface in rapid changes of temperature and so on and etc.?

I don't know why I never thought of this but now I am googling it...I'm curious!

[–] Beeracuda 12 years ago

I believe morphine keeps its potency for about 6-12 months. The cold depths at which it was discovered would likely imitate storage conditions in a refrigerator. As for the water pressure at that depth, I have my doubts as to whether a glass ampule can keep its integrity at those depths. But if it could, the morphine inside should remain unaffected by the pressure. The inside pressure should remain the same as long as the integrity of the surrounding glass is not compromised.

Of course, it's a rather moot point about the effectiveness of the drug itself after such a long period of time. After their discovery, they weren't going to be used for the original medicinal purposes for which they were manufactured, which is the main reason for a "shelf life" of any drug. In the black market of the drug trade, the quality of any drug varies greatly, since they aren't subject to strict government regulation. Morphine that old will probably still produce desired effects for the user, just not at the consistency one might expect.

[–] ruffian82 12 years ago

Ohhhh!

And of course...once it's sold, it's sold. There is no return counter. I also never considered if morphine that old could be made into potent heroin.
Chemistry! Blew off that class. Sorry now. Not just for this question, but a million others that chemistry can answer.

I begin to regret only a few things about growing up before the computer age for every kid.

I miss the card file cabinets in the library but I have a reference library at my fingertips anytime I have Internet access.

I regret that I gave in to 'peer' (inner) pressure and didn't give myself permission to be curious about everything.

Chemistry
Applied Mathematics
many things

As I grow older, I hope the kids today get back some of the electives we had, but I am happy that girls play hard and get dirty in sports now.
I am happy that Chemistry/Mathematics or Lit/Philosophy are not an either/or for kids. It's okay to try for it all, to learn and engage one's brain.

Back in the Eighties still, there was a deep resentment toward having to go to school. What a privilege to have education in place, I hope we are evolving toward the joy of satisfied curiosity.

I don't want to come off pompous, it's just...what if you had a world of people refusing to be distracted from their questions?

I'd like to see that world.