Narcotics, or the medical term narcotic, refers to opium and opium
derivatives or synthetic substitutes.
Narcotics are used medically to relieve intense pain and suppress
coughs. Under medical supervision,
narcotics are administered orally or by intramuscular injection. Narcotics have a high potential for
abuse. As abused drugs they are
sniffed, smoked, or self-administered by the more direct routes of subcutaneous
(“skin-popping”) and intravenous (“mainlining”) injection. Some narcotics come from the resin that is
extracted from the seed of the Asian poppy.
This group of drugs includes opium, morphine, heroin, and codeine. Other opiates, such as Meperidine (Demerolâ), are synthesized
or manufactured.
What drugs are considered narcotics?
Opiates come in a variety of forms including capsules, tablets,
syrups, solutions, and suppositories.
Opium appears as dark brown chunks or as a powder and is usually smoked
or eaten. Heroin can be a white powder,
which is usually dissolved in water and then injected. Although a small amount of opium is used to
make antidiarrheal preparations, virtually all the opium imported into this
country is broken down into its alkaloid constituents, principally morphine and
codeine. There are several dangers,
besides the obvious, when using narcotics:
· Contaminates used to dilute narcotics such
as quinine, sugar, and talcum powder may cause reactions.
· Use of un-sterile needles and injection
techniques may result in blood poisoning, hepatitis, abscesses, and AIDS.
Morphine the principal product of opium is one of the most effective
drugs known for the relief of pain.
Morphine is the active ingredient in most narcotics, marketed in the
form of white crystals, hypodermic tablets, and injectable preparations. It is used legally primarily in
hospitals. Morphine is odorless, tastes
bitter, and darkens with age. It may be
administered subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously. Tolerance and dependence develop
rapidly. Only a small part of the
morphine obtained from opium is used medically. Most is converted to codeine.
Dilaudid,â a shorter acting and more sedative drug than morphine, is
usually 2 – 8 times the potency.
Dilaudid is usually marketed in tablet and injectable form and is
generally obtained through theft and false prescriptions.
Codeineâ is mostly produced from morphine. Used for relief of moderate pain, codeine may be in the form of
tablets or can be combined with other products, such as aspirin or
acetaminaphin (Tylenol 3â). Liquid codeine preparations are used for the
relief of coughs. Codeine is also
manufactured to a lesser extent in an injectable form for the relief of
pain. It is by far the most widely used
naturally occurring narcotic in medical treatment.
Percodanâ is similar to codeine but is usually mainlined. Percodanâ is much more potent and has a higher dependence potential than
codeine.
Does using opiates cause dependence or addiction?
Yes. Dependence is likely,
whether using large amounts frequently or occasionally over a long period of
time. When a person becomes dependent,
finding and using the drug often becomes the main focus in life. As more and more of the drug are used over
time, larger amounts are needed to get the same effects. This is called tolerance. Withdrawal signs usually begin shortly
before the user’s body expects its next dose of narcotics.
Which opiates are
abused?
Heroin accounts for 90% of the opiate abuse in the United
States. Sometimes opiates with legal
medicinal uses also are abused. They
include morphine, Meperidine, paregoric (which contains opium), and cough
syrups that contain codeine. Physical
dangers depend on the specific opiate used, its source, the dose, and the way
it is used.
What is heroin?
Heroin, of all illegal drugs, is responsible for the greatest
number of deaths. In its pure form,
heroin is white and has a bitter taste.
Most street preparations of heroin are diluted or “cut,” with other
substances such as sugars, quinine, food coloring, powdered milk, starch, or
cocoa. Illegal (street) heroin comes in
different forms, ranging in color from white to dark brown. The color denotes the amount of impurities
left from manufacturing or the presence of food coloring or other dilutents
that range in ratios of 9: 1 to 99:1.
Heroin is usually “mainlined,” but it can be inhaled or smoked. Heroin may cause physical and psychological
problems such as nausea, panic, insomnia, and tolerance. Its addictive properties create a need for
repeated use of the drug (craving) and painful physical withdrawal
symptoms. Heroin is addictive because
it activates the regions of the brain responsible for producing both the
pleasurable sensation of “reward” and physical dependence, accounting for
user’s loss of control.
What is black tar heroin? This form of heroin resembles roofing tar or coal, and ranges in
color from dark brown to black. A
processed form of heroin, black tar heroin is illicitly manufactured in
Mexico and has become increasingly available in the western parts of the
United States. It is sold on the
street in a highly pure, tar-like state but is also sold in a diluted form. Adding materials such as burnt cornstarch
that are of a similar consistency dilutes black tar heroin. It can also be made into powder and
combined with mannitol or quinine and injected. |
How does methadone treatment work? Methadone, a synthetic or manufactured drug, does not produce the
same “high” as drugs such as heroin, but does prevent withdrawal and the
craving to use other opiates. It can
be a successful treatment for opiate dependence because it breaks the cycle
of dependence on illegal drugs. When
patients are receiving methadone treatment, they are not inclined to seek and
buy illegal drugs on the street, activities that are associated with
crime. Patients in methadone
maintenance programs also receive counseling, vocational training, and
education to help them reach the ultimate goal of a normal drug-free life. This experimental treatment has, in some
cases, been reported to cause patient addiction to methadone. Methadone treatment is not widely used and
is still being researched. |
Reference Material :
National Drug & Safety League (A
non-profit charitable organization).