The poppy flower P. somniferum has been cultivated for centuries due to the opium resin that the seed pods produce. Narcotics known as opiates are derived from opium, and include heroin, morphine, and of course, opium. Opiates are all extremely effective depressive analgesics, which has led to the creation of synthetic opiates called opioids as prescription painkillers. Opiates however, are not wonder drugs, as they possessive an extremely addictive nature, and abuse of opiates is very common. Opiate withdrawal can be an excruciating experience, and in some cases, death can occur after as little as two days.

Short-Term Effects of Opiate Usage

Harder opiates such as morphine, opium, and heroin are known for creating a euphoric rush upon consumption. Depending on how the drug is taken, effects of this narcotic high can be felt in a few seconds, especially when intravenous injection is used. While using an opiate, users are usually completely pain free and are known to be apathetic to nearly everything that takes place around them. Among heroin users vomiting and blackouts may occur.

Due to the potent addictive nature of opiates and the harshness of withdrawing, opiate users will spend a good deal of their time chasing the next fix in order to avoid withdrawal. The fact that withdrawal is so uncomfortable coupled with a very quick buildup of a tolerance to opiates makes them some of the most dangerous drugs in the world to abuse recreationally.

Withdrawal from Opiates

Withdrawal from opiates usually begins about four to six hours after the drug has last been used, starting with feelings of general discomfort. If an opiate addict cannot obtain a fix for their addiction, painful side effects often take place. Nausea and digestive problems are frequent, with inability to digest food properly, diarrhea, and excessive vomiting being the most prevalent. Painfully aching joints and muscles, hot and cold flashes, and depression will occur if the user does not acquire a fix, and after twelve hours, withdrawal symptoms begin to become severe and possibly life threatening.

Although opiate withdrawal can last for days, the harshest symptoms are felt after about seventy-two hours. At this point the urge to vomit due to sheer nausea is so overwhelming that an addict can lost ten to twenty pounds in a day. To make matters worse, the body temperature will slowly rise. Twitching of the muscles, usually the legs, takes place. This is where “kicking that habit” originated as a term.

Although opiates have value in the medical world as powerful narcotic painkillers, abuse of prescription drugs similar in chemical structure to opiates such as heroin has caused alarm in recent years, especially with the introduction of oxycontin. Efforts have been made in the pharmaceutical practice to remove the addictive qualities of opiates, but little if any progress has been made so far. One other cause for alarm is heroin which has been cut with synthetic opiates such as those found in various prescription drugs. Heroin cut with synthetic opiates is often so powerful that users overdose and die after on injection. Overdoses from opiates are often characterized by shallow breathing, clammy skin, and coma leading to death. It is better to be safe than sorry with opiates, even prescriptions, and to never abuse them under any circumstances as the risk of addiction and overdose far outweighs the high that opiates can provide.

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