I've heard of cloradine mixture (think that's wrong spelling) and chloral hydrate, but the one I think was in the main used to treat stomach problems though it did contain morphine apparently (...)Thanks in advance for any thoughts/memories.
Chlorodyne was a patent medicine containing chloroform and morphine, as well as cannabis indica, ether, hydrocyanic acid capsicum, etc. Potter describes it as "a celebrated secret mixture... a powerful anodyne, anti-spasmodic and narcotic, and therefore highly dangerous in non-professional hands." It had many imitators, most of which were driven from the market by the Harrison Act of 1914, which was the first Federal legislation requiring a doctor's prescription for some narcotics. Chloral hydrate was one of the drugs sometimes used for a "Mickey Finn" or "knockout drops."
I think the drug used to treat "stomach problems" of which you are thinking is paregoric. It's a weak tincture of opium, much more dilute than the strong tincture of opium (laudanum) used as a serious painkiller and once a common drug of addiction. Paregoric was mainly used to treat diarrhœa. It acts by narcotizing the bowel, rather like Imodium (loperamide). It is a perfectly good medication for traveller's diarrhœa and has fallen from use mainly because it contains natural opium.
The odd thing about this is that loperamide is an opioid receptor agonist and has been observed to cause "mild" physical dependence in animal studies; the animals exhibiting some opiate withdrawal symptoms on cessation of long-term dosage. Loperamide was classified as a narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and originally listed as Schedule II (where oxycodone and hydrocodone are now). It was later downgraded to Schedule V in 1977, and decontrolled in 1982. Now the FDA has limited package size and is apparently concerned about its misuse or abuse.
It just goes to show how inconstant and arbitrary government regulation is. Paregoric was so mild an opiate, and so unpleasant to the taste, that it was considered as having little potential for abuse. I remember when it used to be sold over the counter in small amounts, as codeine cough syrup also was, usually max. 2 oz. Then it was moved up the schedules and finally its approval was withdrawn. I think it may again be available by prescription, but I wonder what doctor today would be so old-fashioned as to prescribe it.