WHAT WE FOUND Activated charcoal is a “highly adsorbent, fine, black, odorless, tasteless powdered charcoal used in medicine, especially as an antidote in many forms of poisoning and as an antiflatulent,” according to Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary. Canadian pharmacologist Dr. David Juurlink wrote in 2015 that French chemist Michel Bertrand was reportedly the first person to ingest activated charcoal as an antidote in 1811 after consuming five grams of arsenic trioxide. Since then, activated charcoal has mostly been used by healthcare professionals to treat overdose and poison patients. Dr. Bruce Anderson, the executive director of the Maryland Poison Center and professor of pharmacy practice and science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, broke down how activated charcoal is created.