Drug info - Morphine from 1950 safe?

[wertopas]

SWIM located an orange vial containing 25 small pills with the label 'Morphine Sulphate 1/4 Grain Hypodermic Tablets', estimated to be at least 40-50 years old.
SWIM also said there was a vintage hypodermic syringe that looked like the one on the left in the address below:

http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/grko/exb/RanchingToday/Advances/grko17421_17428_17430_medic.jpg"]http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/grko/exb/RanchingToday/Advances/grko17421_17428_17430_medic.jpg

SWIM wants to know:

- Would these pills be safe to swallow or snort being as old as they are?
- Is it possible to get sick from expired medicine or does it just cease to function?
- Would 1/4 grain be equivalent to MS IR 16mg?

SWIM is not interested in IV. Thanks in advance.

[fiveleggedrat]

Quarter grain is 16mg.

Swim can't see how these would be dangerous. Swim would bet oral would be safe. Intranasal might not be the most pleasant due to whatever binders they used back then.

[wertopas]

^^ thanks

So it doesn't degrade into a toxic substance?

[fiveleggedrat]

Not to any of my knowledge. I don't see how toxic breakdown could be possible. Wonder if there are any anti abuse mechanisms in the pills, like atropine or such. Probably not.

There might be some studies about breakdown. Google might be able to help there.