Tag: Opiates

Evidence suggests that the opium poppy (*Papaver somniferum*) was cultivated in Mesopotamia as early as 3,400 B.C., with the Sumerians calling it the 'joy plant'. For those asking, **what is an example of a narcotic plant?**, this colorful flowering plant is the primary answer, as it produces a milky latex containing powerful alkaloids used to create both life-saving medicines and illicit drugs.

Medications belonging to the opioid family, such as codeine, are widely used for pain relief and cough suppression. Codeine is a naturally occurring opioid derived from the opium poppy plant, but many other drugs are chemically related to it, either as natural derivatives or manufactured alternatives.

Derived from the opium poppy plant, codeine is classified as a natural opioid, or opiate, placing it among a family of powerful substances used for pain relief and cough suppression. It is also considered a prodrug, since the body metabolizes it into morphine to produce its most potent effects.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), synthetic opioid-involved overdose death rates increased by over 22% between 2020 and 2021. To understand the scope of the ongoing crisis, it's crucial to know **what are the 8 opioid drugs** most commonly associated with both medical use and misuse.

The World Health Organization (WHO) once defined a three-step analgesic ladder for cancer pain, which categorized opioids into 'weak' and 'strong' to guide treatment based on pain severity. However, as prescribing practices evolve, understanding the distinctions between weak vs strong opiates remains crucial for both healthcare providers and patients. This classification is not absolute but serves as a useful framework for distinguishing the potency and risk profiles of these pain-relieving medications.

Once a widely available patent medicine in the United States, paregoric was reclassified as a controlled substance in 1970. It is now a Schedule III narcotic and cannot be purchased over-the-counter. The brand name has been discontinued, and while generic versions may exist by prescription, the drug is seldom prescribed today due to abuse potential and the availability of safer, more effective alternatives.

The endogenous opioid system, with its natural opioid peptides, was only discovered in the 1970s, centuries after humans first began using plant-derived opiates. Understanding what is the difference between opioid peptides and opiates requires exploring their distinct origins, structures, and physiological roles, despite their shared action on the body's opioid receptors.

The opium poppy (*Papaver somniferum*) has been cultivated for at least 7,000 years, making it the source of some of the world's oldest and most effective medicines [1.5.5]. The primary question, 'What drug is derived from the poppy plant?' leads to a class of powerful substances known as opiates.

Worldwide, about 60 million people used opioids in 2021. A natural opioid, also known as an opiate, is a substance derived directly from the opium poppy plant (*Papaver somniferum*) and includes well-known drugs like morphine and codeine. The "natural" origin, however, does not imply these substances are safer or less addictive than their synthetic counterparts.

According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, over 5 million people aged 12 and older used morphine products in the past year [1.7.4]. 'What is MOP drug?' is a common question, as MOP is the abbreviation for Morphine used in drug screening [1.2.2].