<p>Before the advent of modern pharmacology and over the course of many centuries, various plant extracts provided early humans with at least some relief from disease. By the mid-nineteenth century, the active substances responsible for these folk treatments began to be identified. One of the first of these isolated and investigated natural products was the alkaloid colchicine. This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of the useful radioligand [methoxy-³H] colchicine at high specific activity.</p>