had a reputation as a recreational

had a reputation as a recreational drug in the 1800s. From the 1840s ‘ether frolics’ involved the inhalation of ether at parties, which were often held by medical students. The use of ether specifically as an anaesthetic in dental and surgical procedures began in the 1840s. Its history was marked by bitter quarrels over who had first begun to use it this way. The Boston dentist William Morton was particularly active in attempting to patent its use.