What is Opium?

• Processed from the milky fluid of the unripe seedpod of the opium poppy plant
• The white opaque milky saps turns brown or black when exposed to air
• This gummy sap is scraped from the poppy with an iron blade
• Small amounts can be taken from the poppy straw
• Most prevalent are Morphine and Codeine
• In Ancient writings opium as an ingredient in more than 700 remedies

Street Names

• O, Op, Poppy, op, hop, tar, black stuff  

Who Uses Opium?

• Opium was commonly used as an analgesic until the development of morphine
• Morphine continues to be prescribed for relief of severe pain
• But fears of its addictive potential have limited its use
• Laudanum was used in the 1800s to promote sleep and alleviate pain
• Codeine suppresses coughing; paregoric stops diarrhea
• Medicinal opiates were freely available in the United States and Europe in the 19th century
• The number of addicted people surged as a result.

Routes of Administration

• Was originally chewed, eaten, or drunk
• Smoked
• Swallowed
• Eaten
• Injected

Short - Term Effects

• feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush")
• warm flushing of the skin
• dry mouth
• heavy extremities
• alternately wakeful and drowsy state
• mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system
• respiratory depression
• constricted pupils
• nausea

Long - Term Effects

• slow and shallow breathing
• clammy skin
• convulsions
• coma
• DEATH

References:

• Uppers, Downers, All Arounders: Physical and Mental Effects of Psychoactive Drugs (Paperback), 6th edition, by Darryl Inaba & William E. Cohen
• http://opioids.com/poppy.html
• http://www.drugs.com/opium.html
• http://www.answers.com/topic/opium

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