Opium Use: Opiates or Opioids?

With the rise in substance abuse related deaths because of prescription painkiller overdose, the use of of opiates and opioids has been given more attention by the national presses of the United States. But as we gain more knowledge about opium, opiates and opioids, distinctions need to made about the differences between all three and how people can use drug rehab to overcome the negative affects of their addiction to these products.

Opium

A highly addictive narcotic drug that comes from the dried latex from the papaver somniferum, also known as the opium poppy. After the latex dries, it is scraped off the pod to be consumed. Opium production is prevalent in Turkey, India and Afghanistan, among other nations. The United States is one the biggest importers of opium, as most of it used for prescription opioids.

Opiates

Often incorrectly mentioned in popular culture and journalism, opiates are any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids coming from the opium poppy. The most well known of all the opiates are morphine, codeine and thebaine. Morphine is the main psychoactive chemical in opium. Because of the addictive nature of opiates, drug rehab is often necessary to stop their effect.

Opioids

Opioids refer to both the natural and the synthetics substances. They are most commonly used to treat chronic pain, and are very effective in doing so. As opioid prescriptions have increased greatly over the past few decades, so too have drug addictions. Since opioids produce euphoria and numb pain, many people find themselves addicted to pills or even heroin, another opioid. Opioid addiction is often so serious that users may need a specific drug rehab program known as methadone treatment therapy to at least mitigate the negative effects of drug use.

Taylor Larsen is a health writer. Information provided by Miramar Recovery Centers. Taylor writes for Fusion 360, an advertising agency in Utah. Find him on Google+.