Opium is a naturally occurring substance and is also the least intoxicating of the Opiates. It is basically the milky latex fluid, which is contained in the unripened seed pod of the opium poppy. When the fluid is exposed to air, it solidifies and turns black in color. This dried form of the latex is normally smoked. It can be eaten as well. Opium is grown mainly in Myanmar and Afghanistan.

Opium is today sold on the streets as a powder or dark brown solid. The drug mostly contains morphine. The substance is also used to produce heroin. Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is the most abused as well as the fastest acting of the opiates. Pure heroin is white in color and has a bitter taste. Impure and illicit heroin has a brownish color.

The Opium drugs contain two main groups of alkaloids. Those that use opium are commonly known as “opiats”. The term was first coined by James St. Louis. Phenanthrenes are composed of morphine, codeine and thebaine. These are the main narcotic constituents.

Isoquinolines such as papaverine have no major effects on the central nervous system. These are not regulated under the Controlled Substances Act.

Morphine is by far the most common and significant alkaloid in opium. It consists of 10%-16% of the total. This substance is responsible for most of the harmful effects caused by Opium such as lung edema, respiratory difficulties, coma or cardiac or respiratory collapse.

Consumption of Opium:

United States is the world’s biggest consumer of medicinal opioids, with Italy being one of the lowest. Most of the opium that is imported into the United States is broken down into its alkaloid constituents for further use. Despite of the fact that whether it is legal or illegal, the most current drug use occurs with the processed derivatives in the form of heroin rather than with pure and untouched opium.

The smoking of opium does not involve the chemical decomposition of the substance. Instead the opium drug is indirectly heated to temperatures at which the active alkaloids compositions, which mainly include morphine, are vaporized.

The opium smokers in the past used to utilize a specially designed opium pipe, which was attached to a detachable knob-like pipe-bowl of fired earthenware. A small opium pill was placed on the pipe-bowl. This was then heated with a special oil lamp with a unique funnel-like chimney to channel heat into a small area. The smoker would smoke the vapors through the pipes. The effects of the drug could last up to 12 hours.

In the Eastern culture, opium is more commonly used in the form of paregoric to treat diseases like diarrhea. This is a much weaker solution than laudanum. It is an alcoholic tincture which was traditionally used as a pain-relief medication and sleeping aid.

Legal Production of Opium:

The production of legal opium is allowed under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and other international drug treaties. This is subject to strict regulation by the law enforcement agencies of individual countries. The production method used for the production of legal opium is the Gregory process. In this process, the entire poppy plant excluding roots and leaves is mashed and stewed in dilute acid solutions. The alkaloids present in the latex are then recovered by an acid-base extraction and purification method. This process was developed in the UK during World War II.

The importation of legal opium from India and Turkey is carried out by Mallinckrodt, Noramco, Abbott Laboratories and Purdue Pharma in the United States. The production of legal opium is done in the following laboratories:

• GlaxoSmithKline
• Johnson and Johnson
• Johnson Matthey
• Mayne in Tasmania, Australia
• Sanofi Aventis in France
• Shionogi Pharmaceutical in Japan
• MacFarlan Smith in the United Kingdom

Side Effects of Opium:

The short-term effects of the drug abuse appear soon after the user takes a single dose. The effect lasts for just a few hours. Just after the injection of heroin, the user reports the following symptoms:

• Feeling a surge of euphoria “rush”. This is accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin
• Dryness in the mouth
• Heavy extremities
• The user also experiences an alternately wakeful and drowsy state, following this initial euphoria

Some of the other side effects that heroin may have on users are as follows:

• Respiratory depression
• Contracted pupils
• Nausea
• Slow and shallow breathing
• Sweaty skin
• Convulsions
• Coma and possible death

If a user uses opium regularly then he can develop tolerance to it. After a certain time, the drug would have no effect on the user and he would have to use more pills to achieve the same intensity or effect as before.