Essay on Morphine

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.

A lot of people who take it like this die of an overdose. Some signs of a person being overdosed on morphine is Constricted, pinpoint, or small pupils (black part of the eye) decreased awareness or responsiveness, extreme drowsiness, fever, increased blood pressure, increased thirst, lower back or side pain, muscle cramps or spasms, muscle pain or stiffness, no muscle tone or movement, severe sleepiness, swelling of the face, fingers, or lower legs, weight gain. These are some of the many side affects you can get from being on an overdose for morphine. Cramps, difficulty having a bowel movement (stool), drowsiness, false or unusual sense of well-being, relaxed and calm feeling, sleepiness or unusual drowsiness, weight loss are also very common side effects from taking morphine. This is a drug that helps you with one thing and damages more things so people take it to their own risk. One of the main reasons why people die of overdose with morphine is because they buy it illegally from the streets. That morphine from the streets is not the medical safe and regulated one. That one you can buy from someone without a prescription is not safe because sometimes it is mixed with other drugs or chemicals to make it last longer or cheaper. Most of the deaths related to morphine overdose are because it was purchased illegally off the street. This is why people say morphine is bad because you can buy it illegally and they always hear that its bad and it’s what drug addicts use but what those people don’t know is that people who are severely injured or have a terminal disease take it to help them with their pain take it. That doesn’t make them drug addicts or bad people. This is a drug that causes a lot controversy everywhere because of all the misconceptions that there are going around about it being bad and

The pharmacological effect of the overuse of morphine include, numbness, lethargy, nausea, euphoria, decrease in body temperature, reduction of respiration and lessening of adrenocortical reaction to stress when taken in large doses. The use of morphine can cause the stimulation of chemoreceptors thereby affecting gastrointestinal tract by diminishing peristaltic action hence causing constipation. Lastly, increased bladder sphincter tone due to the use of Morphine can cause urinary

Although opioids are legal when prescribed by a doctor or dentist, there is a chance of exemplary people with moderate to severe pain unintentionally becoming hooked on this extremely addictive drug. People who become addicted to drugs feel guilt, embarrassment, and

To begin with, studies show that, “In 12 states there are more opioid prescriptions than people” (Brooks). Abuse and addiction of substances like opioids are becoming more of an issue with each generation. People are allowing for these substances to control them. When will people be satisfied with their life enough to not get dragged by this demon. But who are we to blame?

How is this addiction so common? Opioids act by way of attaching themselves to receptors of the brain and/or body, and once doing so, they send signals to the brain which results in the prevention of pain, slowing of breath, and instills a sense of calmness. Opioids mirror neurotransmitters in their chemical structure, and are thus, able to affect brain receptors in the same way. However, opioids are not as consistent as neurotransmitters; they aren’t able to activate nerve receptors as natural neurotransmitters do. Opioids instead target the brain’s reward system, flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine itself is a highly influential neurotransmitter that regulates parts of the brain relating to movement, emotion, cognition, motivation,

f. .stimulants can cause enhanced brain activity increase and llertness in energy elevated blood pressure increase heart rate increase respiration and sleep deprivation…. Ultimately these three drugs possess the same long term affect when abused; high potential for physical dependence and addiction.

For thousands of years, opiates have been used in the treatment of pain. Opium is believed to have been discovered 6000 BC, and since then, it has had a huge impact on both medicine and the recreations of those seeking euphoria. More recent than the ancient discovery of natural opium are the derivatives of opium, such as the alkaloids morphine, codeine, and thebaine. From these alkaloids, semi-synthetic opiates can by synthesized, such as hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Synthetic opioids are also quite prevalent, which include fentanyl and tramadol. Opium can also be processed into heroin, a morphine derivative. As advancements were made in science and engineering to allow for a wider distribution and usage of opiates, the problems of dependence and overdose also increased drastically. According to Hart and Ksir (2013, p. 302), the invention of the hypodermic needle for intravenous administration of morphine and other drugs allowed for a much faster and more potent dose of the drug. With this increased potency came an increase in the possibility of a recreational intravenous user to overdose. Hart also mentions that some of the wars surrounding the era of the synthesis of morphine may have contributed to the rise of morphine, seeing as a medic soldier’s motto was always “first provide relief” (2013). This relief-driven attitude and extensive use of opioid analgesics in medicine during the time, in addition to the large amount of patent medicines and remedies on the market may

When used in moderation and as prescribed opioids are relatively safe. Unfortunately, they are often misused. Misuse of opioids include using it in conjunction with other controlled substances like alcohol or weed, taking it for longer than prescribed, taking more than prescribed, and using it in a way that it was not intended—for example, snorting or injecting it intravenously. This misuse increases the opportunity for dependence exponentially. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines dependence as something that occurs because of adaptations to long term exposure to a drug (Opioids affect the Body, 2016). This happens because of an increase in tolerance, which is the body’s ability to handle a substance—eventually the body is going to need greater doses to produce the same effects. Unfortunately, once the body stops

“Opioids act by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract and other organs of the body. When these drugs attach to their receptors, they reduce the perception of pain and produce a sense of well-being, however, they can also produce drowsiness, mental confusion, nausea, and constipation.” (NIDA 2017) These drugs alter the functions of the brain that interact with areas of reward and

Opiates are often prescribed for pain and include drugs like Oxycontin, Vicodin, Methadone and Dilaudid. Although useful to treat pain, these drugs also can lead to addiction issues. Withdrawal effects occur when a person’s body is adjusting to no longer having opiates in its system. Opiate withdrawal can range from mild to severe. Factors impacting severity include how long a person was using opiates, what type of drug were being taken and at what dosage.

Morphine abuse and addiction treatment is a concern for involved with drug monitoring, policy makers, law enforcement officials and many more. Morpheus McGee is a fictional character for the sole purpose of demonstrating the signs and treatment of narcotic opioid abuse and addiction. The narcotic being abuse is a pain reliever known as morphine. Morphine traces its pharmaceutical origins back to the opium poppy, flowering plants native to southwestern Asia. Narcotic is a term that has been generalized by law enforcement to cover a widespread of drug classes. For the circumstances of this article, narcotics are to be used in referring to opioids deriving from the poppy and their related synthetics. Addiction may begin without signs

Opiates imitate physical chemicals in the body that are expected to calm individuals during times of stress and also help to overcome pain at times of injury or illness. When a person takes an opiate the drug links with the brain’s opiate receptors, causing a calming effect that relaxes and eases physical pain. When taken at doses higher than medically necessary, opiates produce a strong feeling of euphoria, overflowing the brain with feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which activate the reward and pleasure pathways in the brain. This makes the use of opiates pleasurable while also reinforced the behavior, causing the individual to associate the taking of high doses of opiates with strong feelings of physical pleasure. Just

Morphine, a well-known pain reliever used intravenously in the pre-hospital setting, is the most widely used by first responders. As stated by The University of Chicago, “now more than 230 tons of Morphine is used each year for medical purposes including pain relief for patients with chronic pain or advanced medical illness and post-operative analgesia” (Medicine). Freidrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner, a pharmacist’s assistant, first discovered Morphine in 1805 (Medicine). According to The University of Chicago, “Serturner found that opium with the alkaloid removed had no effect on animals, but the alkaloid itself had 10 times the power of processed opium. He named that substance morphine, after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, for its tendency to cause sleep” (Medicine). Morphine, according to Pharmacology Examination & Board Review, is defined as an “Opioid analgesic prototype: strong mu receptor agonist” and it belongs to a classification of drugs that is “derived from the alkaloids of the opium poppy and includes opiates, opiopeptins, and all synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs that mimic the actions of the opiates” (Trevor, Katzung and Masters). The relief of pain is made

Morphine mimics endogenous opioids and activates opioid receptors in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Opioid receptors are G protein coupled receptors which are coupled to Gi protein. Upon binding of morphine to opioid receptors, it triggers the inhibition of adenylate cyclase enzyme and ultimately stops the firing of impulses for nociceptive information. After repeated activation of opioid receptors by morphine, some receptors can be desensitised and binding of morphine to these receptors can no longer stops the neurotransmission. As a consequence, tolerance to morphine develops. When a drug is used repeatedly over time, tolerance can develop as the body adapts to the presence of the drug in the body. Therefore, a higher dose is required to achieve the same desired effect. For example, for morphine, if tolerance develops, a higher dose is needed in order to attain the same analgesic effect. Moreover, one of the adverse effects of morphine when it is used for long term to relieve pain is physical dependence. Dependence develops as a result of tolerance, leading to a resetting of homeostatic mechanisms that require the continued presence of drug for normal function. Therefore, if chronic treatment is stopped suddenly or an antagonist is given, withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sweating, anxiety can