Opiate Articles, Blogs and Resources

What are Opiates?

Opiates for pain managementOpioids are a collection of potent narcotics derived from the poppy plant, and that consists of opium or a natural or synthetic derivative of opium. Normally, opioids are used to induce sleep or relieve pain since they work as a depressant in the central nervous system.

Opiates work in the body by connecting to opioid receptors, which are located in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract. In doing so, opiates are able to prevent the release of pain messages and can change the way a person encounters pain.

Opioids also stimulate the neurotransmitters in the brain’s reward system, the results are euphoric like effects. All medicines that are opiate-based must be prescribed by a physician. Usually, these prescriptions are provided with purposes of controlling pain and alleviating the effects of pain.

Due to the fact that the pain-relieving effects of opioids are short-lived and a strong euphoric experience is encountered, the concern of developing an addiction is greatly increased. Opiates can be derived naturally, or they can be man-made.

Naturally occurring opioids include Morphine, Codeine, heroin and opium. Synthetic opioids, which are man-made drugs that simulate opiates, include medications such as Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, Fentanyl, Hydrocodone, Methadone, Demerol, Darvon, and Vicodin.

These are some of the most common types of natural and synthetic opioids:

  • Codeine
  • Morphine
  • Oxycodone
  • Percocet
  • OxyContin,
  • Percodan
  • Hydromorphone
  • Palladone
  • Dilaudid
  • Hydrocodone
  • Lorcet
  • Forten
  • Vicodin
  • Heroin
  • Methadone

Opioids are accessible in many forms, including capsules, pills, tablets, and liquids. Typically, opiates are ground and snorted or inhaled, swallowed, or injected when used recreationally.

Opiates do offer a lot of benefits as they can provide relief to pain, and therefore enhancing the quality of life for a person enduring bodily illnesses. However, they can quickly be misused. All kinds of opiates and opioids can be addictive, some with greater potential for addiction than others. 

Please continue reading below to see our latest blog posts on opioids. Under the “Substance Abuse Navigation” menu, you can click on the drop-down arrow to see evergreen, general information on abusing opiates.

Meds for Opiate Disorder

Nature Road Through Redwood National Park In May of 2020, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) document titled, TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. [1] According to SAMHSA, the document "reviews the use of the three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications used to treat OUD (Opioid Use Disorder)—methadone, naltrexone, and [...]
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ER Overdose Visits & Opioid Deaths

Medical professionals in medication-assisted treatment can be susceptible to substance abuse as well According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), opioid overdoses are on the rise, as evidenced by the number of overdoses treated in emergency rooms (ERs) across the country. One report showed that between July 2016 and September 2017, the number of overdoses that ER doctors treated rose the most in large cities. Still, the [...]
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Fighting Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine

Guy in mountains thinking about Substance Use Disorder Recovery Opioid addiction continues to be one of the leading health crisis of our time. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 46,802 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2018. [1] Derived from the opium poppy plant, opioids come in both legal and illegal forms. The most common forms [2] of the drug are: [...]
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Brain Pleasure Center and Opioid Addiction

Charlie in deep thought about Families and Addiction and Middle-Aged Suicide Researchers who study the brain and addiction have long been interested in the role of dopamine and, if possible, how drug therapies might help those with addiction recover. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter—a chemical that transmits information between neurons in the brain. Widely known for its role in creating pleasurable feelings, dopamine also "boosts mood, motivation, [...]
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Risky Behaviors & Teen Opioid Abuse

Students Discussing parents Teaching Teens Responsible Drinking Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine suspected that adolescents who misused prescription opioids were more likely to engage in other risky behaviors. After researching their hypothesis, their suspicions were confirmed, and they published their findings in an article in the Journal Pediatrics titled Prescription Opioid Misuse and Risky Adolescent Behavior, which confirmed [...]
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