Opioid Pain Medications

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"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution - then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise."

ALDOUS HUXLEY

1894 – 1963

Opiates are derived by opium. Opium is a gummy substance collected from the seed of the opium poppy. This plant grows in southern Asia. Their use and abuse dates back to ancient times and are among the oldest known powerful pain relievers (Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan, 2010).

The pain relieving and europhia effects of opioids were known to Summerians (4000BC) and Egyptians (2000BC) (Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan, 2010). Some opioids, such as morphine and codeine occur naturally in opium. Opioids are a depressant, which means that they slow down the part of the brain that controls breathing. It is also known to worsen the performance of psychomotor (movements of the body associated with mental activity) tasks due to their sedating and mental cloudy effects (Page, 2005).

Prescription drugs are ranked on their habit forming potential. Opioids are divided into three classes and depending they if have been extracted straight from the opium poppy suggesting morphine or codeine, chemically modified - oxycodone, or completely synthetic -methadone (CAMH, 2010).

Opioid pain medication ...

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...le of prescription drug abuse.

References

Works Cited

Addiction.com, M. (2011). Common Opioids. Retrieved from My addictions.com: www.myaddictions.com/catergories/common_opioids.html

CAMH. (2010, October 21). Center for Addiction and Mental Health. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Canada, H. (2009, December 16). Healthy Living. Retrieved from Opioid Pain Medications: www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Page, G. G. (2005, January 5). Immunologic Effects of Opioids in te Presence and Absence of Pain. Retrieved from Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: www.jpsmjournal.com/article/PIIS0885392405000321/fulltext

Peele, S. (1988). Major Contempoary Perspectives on Addiction and Alcoholism. New York, NY: Lexington Books.

Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan. (2010, December 9). Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved from Opioid Abuse: www.emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview

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