Raw opium

Morphine, when extracted from raw opium and treated chemically, yields the semisynthetic narcotics hydromorphone, oxymorphone, oxycodone, and heroin. Heroin is an illegal narcotic in the United States and is not used in medicine. Synthetic narcotics are those man-made analgesics with properties and actions similar to the natural opioids. Examples of synthetic narcotic analgesics are methadone, levorphanol, remifen-tanil, and meperidine Additional narcotics are listed in the Summary Drug Table Narcotic Analgesics. 

To extract opium, razor cuts are made on the ripening capsuie at the proper stage of development. A white latex exudes, which oxidizes to a red-brown color overnight and is later collected. This constitutes raw opium, which is compressed, dried, and shipped for later processing. 

Figure 2.4 Raw opium and hanresting hand tools. Francoise de Mulder/CORBIS...

Figure 2.5 Raw opium. Courtesy Drug Enforcement Administration...

We have learned about the process of extracting morphine from raw opium. By today s scientific standards, this is a relatively easy process, because morphine is a single chemical... 

But the question remains if OxyContin is such a great drug, why the concern It stems from the fact that OxyContin comes from the poppy plant, in the form of the alkaloid thebaine. While less powerful than raw opium, and certainly much less powerful than heroin, thebaine is still an opiate... 

The majority of the available information supports the notion that teenage use of opium and its derivatives is declining. The use of raw opium in the United States is extremely limited, mostly because little or none is available. Most opium today is used to produce other drugs like heroin and the wide range of prescription drugs that are used in both medicinal and abusive ways. While overall use of heroin is quite small among the teenage population, the abuse of prescription medications that contain opium is on the rise. 

II High Yes Codeine, morphine, meperidine Same as Schedule 1 (Demerol), opium poppy, opium tincture (Laudanum), granulated opium, powdered opium, raw opium, oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), thebaine... 

Meanwhile, opium had been joined by other narcotics. Back in 1805 a German pharmacist s assistant had discovered how to isolate its main ingredient, morphine. A preparation of morphine is about 10 times as potent as raw opium. In 1832, another morphine derivative called codeine was isolated. By the 1850s, a more effective way to administer these powerful narcotics was developed—the hypodermic needle. During the American Civil War, battlefield surgeons had one effective way to relieve the pain of a shattered limb or punctured lung—an injection of morphine. Soldiers who survived their wounds after this treatment often became addicted to the drug. Morphine addiction was thus sometimes referred to as the soldier s disease. ... 

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. 

The poppy plant produces raw opium. Crude refineries modify the opium into a brown paste that is molded and dried into bricks. More sophisticated laboratories are found in Bangkok, Karachi, and Hong Kong. These labs change opium into what is known as number three heroin, a smokeable form. Purification of heroin to the injectable fourth stage (number four heroin) involves a volatile chemical combination that can result in catastrophic explosions. 

Raw opium is harvested from the seed pod of the opium poppy. As many as 50 substances called alkaloids can then be derived from opium, and the opium can be further processed. Alkaloids are naturally occurring plant products that possess some pharmacological activity, and are found in other plants as well as opium poppies. Cocaine and nicotine are examples of alkaloids derived from the coca plant and the tobacco plant,... 

The pods can continue to ooze their sap for several days, so the farmer may tap pods to collect the opium several times. Some of the most productive seed pods will also be harvested to provide seeds for the next year s crop. On average, a single pod produces less than 80 mg of raw opium, according to the United States Dmg Enforcement Administration (DEA). An area of 2.5 acres (1 hectare) may yield roughly 17.6-33 lb (8-15 kg) of raw opium. 

Raw opium may be smoked, but it is usually cooked first, a process in which the raw opium is boiled in water. The opium dissolves and impurities such as twigs and dirt are removed by straining. This leaves a clear, brown liquid called liquid opium, which is then re-heated until the water evaporates and all that remains is a thick paste. The paste is then sun-dried to the proper consistency for smoking or eating. 

Flavoring substances can also be added to opium, including spices, sugar, and/or honey to disguise its bitter taste. It is also mixed into opium wine mixtures, some of which are called Yen Shee Suey. Dross, the residue remaining in the pipe after prepared opium has been smoked, may be mixed with raw opium. Re-using this dross is a cost-cutting measure in opium production. 

Opium traders buy the raw opium from farmers. In Southeast Asia, the price for raw opium in 1999-2000 ranged from 150 to 350 per kilogram. The price is marked up as the opium goes through each stage of processing and refinement. For example, the DEA reports that cooked opium is usually marked up approximately 20%. The price is then marked up again as the opium is refined into morphine base, morphine, heroin base, and heroin. 

In the process of preparing a tincture, some pharmacologically active constituents of the plant are extracted by the alcohol. Although not all substances are soluble in alcohol, those that are include the alkaloids. In the case of a tincture of raw opium, the soluble alkaloids include morphine, codeine, noscapine, and papavarine. Such tinctures of opium were the infamous laudanum preparations of the late 1800s (see Appendix). 

In order to extract the morphine, the opium resin must first be prepared. This is achieved by adding the raw opium to boiling water, in which the alkaloids dissolve, while the insoluble material can be removed while it floats, or is filtered from the solution. To extract the morphine from the processed opium, the latter is placed in a large volume of boiling water and calcium hydroxide added. The water is cooled and the unwanted alkaloids precipitate, while the morphine and some codeine remain in solution. The solution is then re-heated and ammonium chloride (and sometimes ethanol and diethyl ether) added. When the pH reaches 8-9, the... 

Synonyms Crude opium Gum opium uc opium Raw opium Standardized opium powder... 

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