Consciousness opium

Opium and its derivatives have been employed for centuries for the treatment of pain. Morphine was first synthesized in 1805 and has proven to be one of the most effective analgesic agents available [1], Morphine and its analogs are particularly useful because they diminish pain sensation while maintaining consciousness. However, opiates induce severe side-effects including respiratory depression, nausea, bradycardia and constipation and long-term use of opiates can cause addiction [2]. 

Opium was, in fact, widely used in British society. It was sold in pharmacies and prescribed by doctors as a remedy for all sorts of ills. Opium was combined with liquor and sold in bars. A bottle of this popular mixture of opium and liquor, called laudanum, was commonplace in English households (see Sydenham s Laudanum box). While the English opinion of opium eventually changed, its initial acceptance as a rather harmless luxury item might have given merchants a clear conscious when pushing its sale on China. 

The appearance of a double bond in the 9 10 position during the formation of a-codeimethine was consistent with the attachment of the basic nitrogen to one of these carbon atoms. Position 9 was generally preferred by the early theorists, probably on conscious or subconscious biogenetic grounds, in that the other opium alkaloids are /3-arylethyl-amine derivatives. 

Opium, obtained from the unripened seed pods of opium poppies, contains at least 20 different compounds. Chemically, they are alkaloids—organic compounds that contain nitrogen, are bases, and are produced by plants. About 10% of crude opium is morphine, which is primarily responsible for the effects of opium. Morphine is medically valuable as a strong painkiller able to produce sedation and loss of consciousness. The term opioid is now applied to all compounds with morphine-like activity. 

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