Opium concentrated

Codeiae (2, R = CH3) occurs ia the opium poppy along with morphine (2, R = H) but usually ia much lower concentration. Because it is less toxic than morphine and because its side effects (including depression, etc) are less marked, it has found widespread use ia the treatment of minor pain and much of the morphine found ia cmde opium is converted to codeiae. The commercial coaversioa of morphine to codeiae makes use of a variety of methylating ageats, amoag which the most common are trimethylphenylammonium salts. Ia excess of two huadred toas of codeiae are coasumed anauaHy from productioa faciUties scattered arouad the world. 

In opiate abuse, smack ( junk, jazz, stuff, China white mostly heroin) is self administered by injection ( mainUning ) so as to avoid first-pass metabolism and to achieve a faster rise in brain concentration. Evidently, psychic effects ( kick, buzz, rush ) are especially intense with this route of administration. The user may also resort to other more unusual routes opium can be smoked, and heroin can be taken as snuff (B). 

The assumption which is made in the type of test deseribed following is that the related unknown substances will produce a similar intensity of spot to the test substance itself at equal concentrations. For example, a limit test is conducted for related (foreign) alkaloids in codeine, which is extracted from the opium poppy in which a range of alkaloids occur thus, the exaet identity of the impurities may not be known. To conduct the test, 10 pi amounts of three solutions are applied separately to a TLC plate. The solutions contain 4.0% w/v codeine (Solution 1),... 

An alkaloid is a complex organic chemical substance found in plants, which characteristically combines nitrogen with other elements, has a bitter taste, and typically has some toxic, stimulant, analgesic effects. There are many different alkaloids, 30 of which are found in the opium plant. While morphine is the most important alkaloid in opium—for its natural narcotic qualities as well as providing the chemical structure for heroin—another alkaloid, codeine, is also sought after for its medicinal attributes. Other alkaloids include papaverine, narcotine, nicotine, atropine, cocaine, and mescaline. While the concentration of morphine in opium varies depending on where and how the plant is cultivated, it typically ranges from 3 percent to 20 percent. 

Notably 85 percent of all opium cultivation is directed toward illicit commerce. Most opium is converted into heroin before it is put on the market. This is the result of several factors. First, to produce the same effect, it requires approximately 30 times more opium than heroin. Also, heroin takes up less space and is thus easier and safer to smuggle. Finally, heroin, because of its more powerful and concentrated effect, can be sold at greater prices, earning the dealer higher profits than with opium. 

Tinctures are the concentrated alcoholic preparation of vegetable drugs made by maceration process, (e.g. Tr. opium, Tr. lemon) used in different pharmaceutical preparation for oral use. Tr. Benzoin Co. is used externally. 

Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic derivative of thebaine, one of the opium alkaloids. It is approximately 30 times as potent as morphine. A dose of 0.3 mg intramuscularly has a duration of analgesic action of 6-18 h. Buprenorphine is also effective sublingually. The average bio-availability by this route is about 55%, but absorption is slow and the time to achieve peak plasma concentrations is variable, with a range of 90-360 min. The onset of action is rather slow (5-15 min) after both intramuscular and intravenous administration, possibly due to slow receptor association. Buprenorphine binds to and dissociates from the p receptor very slowly, which may account for its low potential for physical abuse. It also means that buprenorphine-induced respiratory depression is difficult to reverse with naloxone, even with very high doses. Doxapram may in these circumstances be useful. Drowsiness and dizziness are the most common side effects, although they rarely... 

Opium, the source of morphine, is obtained from the poppy, Papaver somnlferum and P album. After incision, the poppy seed pod exudes a white substance that turns into a brown gum that is crude opium. Opium contains many alkaloids, the principle one being morphine, which is present in a concentration of about 10%. Codeine is synthesized commercially from morphine. 

At least in the short-term, conditions in the world s heroin markets will be determined by what happens in southern Afghanistan, as the country was responsible for 92 per cent of global opium production in 2006. For no other drug is production so concentrated in a single area. This concentration went hand in hand with a remarkable long-term progress in eliminating other sources of supply, principally in South-East Asia. Poppy cultivation in South-East Asia is down by more than 85 per cent over the last decade. Between 2005 and 2006 alone, poppy cultivation in South East Asia declined from 35,000 hectares to 24,000 hectares. 

In 2006, a much smaller number of households (minus 34 per cent) produced the same amount of opium due to higher yields and sold it for a much higher price compared to 2005. As a consequence, the total value of the national opium production, which increased considerably, was distributed among fewer households. This concentration led to an unusually high average household cash income of US 437 in opium cultivating households in 2006, an increase by 50 per cent compared to 2005. 

Achieving consistent results with opium has always been difficult. Different methods of production and naturally varying concentrations of morphine and codeine produce widely varying results from one batch to the next. Once the chemical methods became available, scientists were eager to isolate the active ingredient(s), hoping to produce a pure analgesic. 

The United States imports about 70% of the world s opium. About 95% of that opium is consumed in the form of schedule III preparations, of which codeine is the most common. Until the mid-1970s, opium had been the main raw material used for the production of morphine and codeine. Since 1978, however, concentrate of poppy straw has been used with increasing frequency for that purpose. Poppy straw is a term used for the remainder of the poppy plant—but primarily refers to the seed capsule itself—once the seeds and opium-producing fluid have been removed. The majority of morphine and codeine production now comes from concentrate of poppy straw. 

The concentrations of morphine and codeine in both raw opium and poppy straw vary greatly, but morphine concentrations as a percentage of total weight are typically about 10 times greater than are those of codeine. Therefore, processing of opium and poppy straw produces much more morphine than codeine. However, greater quantities of codeine than morphine are required for medical purposes. Based on the discrepancies between production and use of the two drugs, about 80% of morphine is converted into codeine. 

Hydromorphone and its natural opioid relatives have been used to relieve pain, treat a variety of ailments, and create euphoric feelings at least as far back as the time of the ancient Greeks. In early Greek history, the priests controlled the use of opium and ascribed to it supernatural powers. In the fifth century bc, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, dismissed the supernatural attributes of opium. Hippocrates believed opium had cathartic, narcotic, hypnotic, and styptic properties. He believed that all diseases had a natural origin and could be cured by natural therapies. All of the natural opiates historically were derived from opium poppy plants. The liquid extracted from the poppy seeds was typically dried to create a concentrated powder. These extracts were then smoked, eaten, or drank. 

---