Opium

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Heroin Heroin is a semisynthetic narcotic drug, which uses opium as the source of the narcotic during processing.

Opium is converted into morphine, which is then synthetized into heroin. It is chemically changed and enhanced in a lab in order to increase the potency of its effects. Originally, heroin was developed as a painkiller in the early s after opium, morphine, and laudanum all proved to be too dangerous and addictive. However, heroin proved to be too potent, addictive, and dangerous as well, leading to the development of other narcotic painkillers. Opium Opium is typically smoked, because the alveoli in the lungs allow the narcotic to pass into the bloodstream much faster.

However, it can also be eaten, injected intravenously, or taken in pill form. The sap, either sticky or dried, can easily be added to other drugs to create dangerous combinations, such as marijuana joints laced with opium or an injection that combines heroin, opium, and meth. Heroin Heroin is typically ingested intravenously, by combining the powder or rock crystals with water, then injected.

Some individuals also smoke or snort the drug.

Heroin When heroin enters the brain from the bloodstream, it is converted into morphine and binds with the opioid receptors. Symptoms of heroin intoxication include:. Heroin is extremely addictive, since the intense euphoria begins within minutes after the initial dose and quickly ends. People who become addicted to heroin can suffer long-term side effects , including:. Heroin Heroin overdose looks very much like opium overdose, although because the drug is injected intravenously by most users, it is easier to misjudge how much heroin is in a dose.

More Opiate Drugs Presritpion Painkillers Most Addictive Opiates The Opiate Epidemic Treatment for Opium or Heroin Addiction Heroin is a highly addictive and dangerous narcotic drug that is synthesized from morphine, a chemical compound found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy. Because of this close relationship, heroin and opium have very similar effects, although they are ingested in different ways and at different concentrations. However, they both cause serious long-term side effects; can rapidly lead to addiction, dependence, and tolerance; and can also rapidly cause an overdose.

Struggling with a substance abuse problem, such as an addiction to heroin or opium, can lead to serious consequences in every realm of life. It is important to get help as soon as possible to overcome problems with drugs.

Opium - Wikipedia

Medical detox is always required to withdraw from these substances, and it should be followed by a complete program of therapy. Has addiction stolen your loved one? During the 18th century European traders found in China an expanding and profitable market for the drug, and the opium trade enabled them to acquire Chinese goods such as silk and tea without having to spend precious gold and silver.

As a result of their defeat in the Opium Wars , the Chinese were compelled to legalize the importation of opium in Opium addiction remained a problem in Chinese society until the Communists came to power in and eradicated the practice.

In the West, opium came into wide use as a painkiller in the 18th century, and opium, laudanum, and paregoric were active ingredients in many patent medicines. These drugs were freely available without legal or medical restrictions, and the many cases of addiction they caused did not arouse undue social concern. Morphine was first isolated from opium about , and the hypodermic syringe was invented at mid-century.

Their use in combination on hundreds of thousands of sick or wounded American soldiers in the Civil War produced unprecedented numbers of addicts. Heroin, which was first synthesized in , proved even more addictive than morphine, and by the early decades of the 20th century the legal use of opiates of any kind had been curtailed. The traffic in such drugs then went underground, leading to a vast illicit trade in heroin.

Although opium trade routes extending from the southeastern and southwestern regions of Asia closed temporarily during World War II , cultivation of the plant continued and even prospered in areas of China. In Burma Myanmar , located along the southwestern border of China, gained independence and soon after emerged as a major producer of the drug, paralleling the suppression of opium cultivation in China.

Smoking of opium declined in the 20th century, partly because it had been supplanted by more-potent derivatives and partly because of determined efforts in China and other developing countries to eradicate it. In the late s, drug-control programs headed by the United Nations and by individual governments contributed to a reduction in opium poppy cultivation in the Golden Triangle. However, the region subsequently became a major producer of other illicit substances, including methamphetamines.

Also in the late s, opium poppy cultivation increased in Afghanistan , and that country became a leading producer of heroin. As cultivation of the plant continued to soar there in the early s, drug trade in the region became associated with terrorism and lawlessness. Near the end of the decade, however, increased law enforcement efforts and the outbreak of a poppy fungal disease caused poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan to drop significantly. The declines were seen as an opportunity to persuade local farmers to cultivate legal crops.

Because of Internet pharmacies that sold the drug illegally, however, global opium trafficking remained high. The legitimate use of certain opiate alkaloids in medicine has compounded issues surrounding the cultivation of opium poppies. However, unlicensed cultivation of opium plants remains a serious legal offense in many countries, including the United States , since the substance is the starting product for heroin, which has millions of addicts worldwide.

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Global opium and cocaine production at record highs, UN report says

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Opium (perfume)

Read More on This Topic. Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Poppy , any of several flowering plants of the poppy family Papaveraceae , especially species of the genus Papaver. Most poppies are found in the Northern Hemisphere, and several species of poppies are cultivated as garden ornamentals. The opium question, the direct cause of the first Sino-British clash in the 19th century, began in the late 18th century as the British attempted to counterbalance their unfavourable China trade with traffic in Indian opium. After monopolizing the opium trade in , the East India….

Opium production reached record levels within a few years of the ouster of the Taliban government: Complicating government efforts to curtail production was the fact that many segments of the population, including….

What is Opium?

Alcohol and tobacco are also sometimes classified as drugs. The term drug abuse is normally applied to excessive and addictive use of drugs. Because such drugs can have severe physiological and psychological,…. Opium, morphine, heroin, and related synthetics alleviation of pain In pain: Alleviation of pain derivation from the opium poppy In opium poppy In poppy drug cults In drug cult: History of drug use in religion drug use In drug use: Conflicting values in drug use In drug use In drug use: Physiological effects of addiction opioid analgesics In analgesic: Opioid analgesics preparation of laudanum In laudanum View More.

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What is opium?

Introduction Opium alkaloids Physiological actions of opiates History of opium. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context.

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