Chapter 15 - The Opiates Heroin and Morphine Flashcards
Treatments
The primary treatments for heroin addiction in most countries are methadone and buprenorphine. Both methadone and buprenorphine have a high and long-lasting affinity for opioid receptors. Ironically, they are both opioids with many of the same adverse effects as heroin
Death
Death associated with heroin overdose is a serious problem—high doses of heroin kill by suppressing breathing
Withdrawal
The classic opioid withdrawal syndrome usually begins 6 to 12 hours after the last dose.
Withdrawal Stage 1
increase in restlessness; the opioid user begins to pace and fidget. Watering eyes, running nose, yawning, and sweating are also common during the early stages of opioid withdrawal.
Withdrawal stage 2
person often falls into a fitful sleep, which typically lasts for several hours.
Withdrawal stage 3
Once they wake up, the original symptoms may be joined in extreme cases by chills, shivering, profuse sweating, gooseflesh, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, dilated pupils, tremor, and muscle pains and spasms.
Withdrawal timeline
The symptoms of opioid withdrawal are typically most severe in the second or third day after the last injection, and by the seventh day they have all but disappeared. In short, opioid withdrawal is about as serious as a bad case of the flu:
Opioids effect
The effect of opioids most valued by users is the rush that follows intravenous injection. The heroin rush is a wave of intense abdominal, orgasmic pleasure that evolves into a state of serene, drowsy euphoria.
Heroin
semisynthetic opioid heroin. Heroin was synthesized in 1870 by the addition of two acetyl groups to the morphine molecule, which greatly increased its ability to penetrate the blood–brain barrier. In 1898, heroin was marketed by the Bayer Drug Company; it was freely available without prescription and was widely advertised as a superior kind of aspirin.
The Harrison Narcotics Act
passed in 1914, made it illegal to sell or use opium, morphine, or cocaine in the United States—although morphine and its analogues are still legally prescribed for their medicinal properties
Morphine
A carminative is a drug that expels gas from the digestive tract, thereby reducing stomach cramps and flatulence. Flatulence is the obvious pick for second prize.) There were even over-the-counter opium potions just for baby—such as Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup and the aptly labeled Street’s Infant Quietness. Although pure morphine required a prescription at the time, physicians prescribed it for so many different maladies that morphine addiction was common among those who could afford a doctor.
Opium potions
Opium potions such as laudanum (a very popular mixture of opium and alcohol), Godfrey’s Cordial, and Dalby’s Carminative were very popular.
Morphine 2
the most potent constituent of opium, was isolated in 1803, and it became available commercially in the 1830s
Opioids
pioids are effective as analgesics (painkillers; see Weibel et al., 2013); they are also extremely effective in the treatment of cough and diarrhea. But, unfortunately, the kindly Dr. Jekyll brings with him the evil Mr. Hyde—the risk of addiction.
Opium
Opium—the dried form of sap exuded by the seedpods of the opium poppy—has several psychoactive ingredients. Most notable are morphine and codeine, its weaker relative. Morphine, codeine, and other drugs that have similar structures or effects are commonly referred to as opioids. The opioids exert their effects by binding to receptors whose normal function is to bind to endogenous opioids.
