According to the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the definition for the word "narcotic" varies greatly depending on the context in which it is used. The strictest way to define the word is to include only substances that bind to opiate receptors in the brain, while the broadest definitions may include any illegal drug. The agency uses a legal definition that includes only opium, its derivatives and its synthetic substitutes as narcotics. This breakdown is an easy way to classify the drugs.
Narcotics of Natural Origin
The cultivation of the poppy plant has existed in Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia since 5000 B.C. with the first written references to the substance dating to roughly 4000 B.C., says Opiates.net. When the underdeveloped seed of this plant is cut, it bleeds out a white, milky, latex-like substance. When dried, the substance becomes opium. Another more efficient way to harvest this drug is through processing dry straw from the mature plant. The most basic drug that can be derived from the poppy plant is opium. With some processing, drugs like morphine and thebaine can be produced. Morphine can be even be further refined into codeine that can be used for cough and pain relief.
Semi-synthetic Narcotics
Semi-synthetic narcotics have their origin in drugs like opium, morphine, codeine and thebaine, but have been further processed to the point where they are no longer naturally occurring chemicals. The DEA lists heroin, hydromorphone, oxycodone and hydrocodone as drugs that belong in this group. These drugs are notorious for their illicit use, but most of them are also pharmaceutical drugs. The largest exception to this is heroin. Although heroin originated as a medicine, it has been replaced by safer alternatives, and most heroin production has shifted to clandestine laboratories. These drugs, like all opiates, have sedative effects that make them extremely efficient in managing pain. Their drawbacks lie in how addictive they are as well some health risks associated with their use.
Synthetic Narcotics
Most narcotics are derived from the poppy plant, but there are some drugs that are made entirely in pharmaceutical laboratories that qualify as narcotics. This is because they cause many of the depressive, relaxing and drowsing effects that are characteristic of all opiates. Examples of drugs that belong in this group include meperidine, dextropropoxyphene, Fentanyl, pentazocine and butorphanol, says the DEA. These drugs are often used as analgesics and for pre-anesthesia. They often produce identical reactions to those of heroin and methadone, but can be up to 100 times more potent, making them highly demanded drugs of abuse.
Narcotics Treatment Drugs
Most narcotics, especially opiates, work by binding to opiate receptors in the brain. With prolonged use, the brain adapts to the presence of narcotics and starts to demand more than the original dose. Drugs that bind to opiate receptors without causing the euphoric rush associated with drugs of abuse are often used to treat recovering addicts. These types of drugs help to eliminate some of the erratic behavior exhibited by drug abusers and help to alleviate the physical symptoms of withdrawal, making the process easier for the addict. These drugs may be abused, but only when used in extremely high doses. In cases of addiction to these drugs, the period of withdrawal can be extremely long and painful, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Despite their association with opiate withdrawal, they may also be used to treat pain in certain chronically ill patients. Examples of these drugs include methadone, buprenorphine and Levo-Alpha Acetyl Methadol, or LAAM.
Member Comments