Morphine

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Morphine is a highly addictive opiate psychoactive painkiller. It is often used before or after surgery to alleviate severe pain. Morphine acts by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. The drug was originally derived from the poppy seed plant before it was chemically enhanced and manufactured. Starting off, the drug was used to cure alcoholism and certain types of addictions. This didn’t last very long considering morphine was found to be much more addictive than alcohol. In the early 1900s, morphine was identified as a controlled substance under the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act was put in place to control morphine by making it only legal for those with a prescription for the drug to carry and use it. It is now considered a Schedule I&II drug, which basically defines the levels of enforcement against the drugs. At the time, morphine was the most commonly abused drug, because of its mind-numbing, and reality shattering capabilities.

As a pain killer, morphine is used in hospitals around the United States for pain management and post-surgery. The main types of consumption is through smoking, snorting, rectal, I.V, orally, and through injection. A pump can also be used to administer the drug to the patient. Most times pumps are used in extreme cases of nerve disorders which usually entail a catheter being microscopically implanted into the spinal cord. The use of a pump is normally for pain management. Pumps are filled with a months or less supply of the drug, which is administered from the abdomen to the spinal area of pain. It basically numbs erratic nerve function and allows a normal life to be had by the patient. Morphine can also be us...

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...e acute withdrawal period systolic and diastolic blood pressure increase, usually beyond pre-morphine levels, and heart rate increases, which could potentially cause a heart attack, blood clot, or stroke.

Morphine has been used for many years in different cultures, and for different reasons. It has been abused, demolished, revived, and manufactured. It has saved many lives and ruined many more. It is the drug of choice for many who feel they need something to numb out the bad, and forget about the real. It is also the prescription of choice for men and women who just want to have their lives back. Although morphine addicts go through hell during their withdrawal stages, and how awful the drug can be through abuse, it offers very much to a wide array of patients suffering from diseases such as cancer, severe back pain, kidney stones, and pain associated in trauma.

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