Can you shoot opium

Heroin abuse has doubled in the past decade. Opium is a very addictive narcotic and is a dried form of the poppy seed pod with a bitter taste. It has many different alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone and fentanyl.

Opium is harvested in Afghanistan. This substance is refined into morphine and then refined more into other narcotics. Prolonged use of morphine can be habit-forming. Life-threatening breathing problems have been associated with morphine use.

Another form of opiate is codeine. It is used as a pain reliever. It is sometimes mixed with acetaminophen. Codeine is also in cough suppressants. If individuals abuse codeine, it can become an addictive drug. Oxycodone is an opioid narcotic used to treat moderate to severe pain. Oxycodone is not recommended for people with asthma. Abuse can lead to overdose or addiction and in some cases can cause death.

Fentanyl is a synthetic version of opioids. Nowadays, this drug is now being imitated on the streets. Opium comes from the poppy plant. These plants are noted for their beautiful flowers in their array of colors. This is the same plant that produces the poppy seeds that you get on bagels. Poppy seeds do have a minute amount of opium content but most of the opium is taken out during processing.

There are very few times when poppy seeds can result in a positive drug test. Opium has been around for several thousands of years; both the ancient Romans and the ancient Greeks used opium as pain killers.

There were opium wars in the s. The Chinese brought their opium when coming to work on the U. This was first used to help treat tuberculous. There are several ways to use opium and heroin. All Dom's siblings worked as government officers. He felt rejected by his parents, who by the time of his birth had been having difficulties in their marriage.

He had left home in his early teens and had led a rough life with other street children. It was during that period that he had begun smoking opium. About three years prior to the interview he had injected the drug for the first time, having been encouraged to do so by a close friend who had told him of the heightened effect.

His first injection Had been administered by the dealer of a "Shooting-gallery", who had used the common needle, syringe and "pot". Since that time, although he had know on of the dangers of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS from television and newspaper campaigns, he had never carried his own needle or syringe and had shared injecting paraphernalia at the "shooting galleries" that he had attended.

He reported that the desire for the drug hat superseded his fear of the risks. His most common pattern was to inject 2 cc of opium once or twice per day. If he had sufficient money he would pool his resources and purchase an ampoule of Dolargan, which he would mix with 1 cc of opium and would share with four friend.

He had never attended a treatment centre. For two months in the previous year he had stopped taking drugs altogether by staying at home for two weeks and enduring the withdrawal symptoms. During that time his drug-using friends had been supportive and encouraging of his attempt to cease taking drugs. He was currently living at home with his aged parents and his older brother. They were unaware of his drug habit and he never used drugs at home. He often travelled across the city to "shooting-galleries" away from his neighbourhood in order to maintain his anonymity.

He said that he was doing whatever was necessary to raise money for his drug use. His long fingernails were painted red, indicating the likelihood that he was operating in the sex industry. Except for the few who had their own syringes 7 per cent of the persons in the sample described boiling syringes the last time that they had injected at home , the injector had no control over syringe hygiene in the "shooting-galleries".

Some dealers sluiced syringes in boiled though not boiling water, which was poured from a flask. Of the persons in the sample, 53 per cent reported that that had been done on their last injecting occasion. The water would be used for multiple "cleaning" episodes and would rarely be changed before it became a dark pink colour.

Others would flush the syringe plunger two or three times in the same water. Observations were recorded where shared needles were dipped not rinsed in water that had been warmed and cooled. Needles were often repeatedly sharpened for reuse. However, injectors in "shooting-galleries" were not able to insist upon any form of syringe cleaning.

Many visited the "shooting-gallery" for the minimum amount of time necessary to purchase and inject their drugs and therefore had no knowledge of the preceding injecting episodes or the cleaning methods. Drug users who injected at home reported various strategies for cleaning injecting equipment. Most reported sluicing the needle and syringe in boiled water for two or three minutes. No use of bleach was reported.

Of the persons in the sample, 69 per cent relied totally on the dealer for hygiene related to injecting practices, 12 per cent generally boiled equipment, 13 per cent used boiled water and 6 per cent did nothing.

Cannabis was easy to obtain and that made Ho Chi Minh City attractive to some foreign drug users. Occasionally, cocaine was also available, but it was too expensive for local people.

The opium used for injecting originated in the northern provinces. As at Hanoi, two different preparations of opium were injected by the drug users: "blackwater" opium and raw opium Only a minority purchased the latter as it was deemed to be weaker, and few people had sufficient privacy and technical resources to prepare and refine the drug for injecting at home.

Drug injectors also noted that injecting raw opium provided an acceptable initial "hit", but subsequent injection produced diminishing effects. Raw opium residue was sold in a variety of units. For example, the "chi" approximately 2. It was sold in the "shooting-galleries" called "dong chich" at Ho Chi Minh City.

The residue was bought by the drug dealer from a variety of opium smoking dens around the city. It was then prepared for injecting and diluted by the "chu" and sold to the drug users. As at Hanoi, the opium solution was sold from a common "pot" in various units. It was common for users to mix the opium solution with pharmaceutical preparations to enhance the effect Most "shooting-galleries" provided a wide selection of such drugs.

The range of pharmaceutical preparations available at Ho Chi Minh City. The preparations were always in ampoule form, already prepared for injection.

The pharmaceuticals were mixed in the syringe with the opium solution. Many of the preparations could be easily purchased from normal retail outlets and the popular Dolargan was freely available on the black market. The most commonly mentioned pharmaceuticals were Seduxen diazepam , Valium, Dolargan and Gardenal phenobarbital.

A variety of other tranquillizers were available; some were simply known among drug users as "Chinese tranx" or "Thailand tranx", depending on their country of origin.

A number of drug-injecting respondents noted the common preference for purchasing pharmaceutical preparations especially Valium whose expiry dates had elapsed. Drug users commented that such drugs produced a different and more powerful effect.

A number of pharmacies kept ampoules of such preparations to be sold to drug users. For instance, ampoules containing 2 cc of Valium were sold to the public for D 5, each; those sold after their expiry dates had elapsed would be sold to drug injectors for D 7, each. Drug users noted that they could recognize preparations with elapsed expiry dates as their colour was a darker yellow than that of freshly stocked preparations. Virtually no heroin had been available in Viet Nam since Many older drug users reported having used and injected heroin prior to that time, but since the withdrawal of the United States troops, its importation had been severely reduced and may have even ceased altogether.

There was limited evidence of cocaine use among the 6hte and rich, but no "crack" use. The cocaine use had been observed at parties where foreigners had been present. All 60 of the persons in the sample were current injectors; 92 per cent of them injected opium. Thirty per cent had been recruited from treatment centres and the remaining 70 per cent had been interviewed at congregation sites, including "shooting- galleries".

Of the 18 persons reporting past heroin use, none reported having commenced such use after There were no reports of cocaine use. Fifty per cent reported having mixed and injected opium with other drugs primarily morphine, Dolargan and Valium. The majority purchased their drugs most often from "shooting-galleries" 47 per cent or street scenes 38 per cent. Only 1 5 per cent stated that they most often bought drugs from other places, such as private homes.

Daily expenditure on drugs ranged from D 2, to D 55, Just over one fourth 28 per cent of the respondents were employed and the remainder 72 per cent were unemployed. Of the 60 respondents, 92 per cent 55 were male and 8 per cent 5 were female. Their ages ranged from 23 to Twenty per cent were under 31 years of age, and 77 per cent were under The official population of Ho Chi Minh City in was 4.

However, many people had migrated to the city from outlying and rural areas; thus, a more realistic estimate was 6 million. That led to a broad social diversity of the populace and heightened potential for anonymity.

There were a number of networks of drug users that rarely overlapped. Those social networks were based on a complexity of factors, including such variables as class, education, parents' occupation, accommodation status, employment and allegiance in the conflict with the United States. One such group of drug users was the "thanh nien hu hong" spoilt youths , who came from relatively wealthy families, met together for recreation and were often associated with powerful motor cycles.

Owing to the size of the city and the greater opportunities for anonymity, the drug scene at Ho Chi Minh City was more open than that observed at Hanoi. Injectors congregated and used drugs in parks, under bridges and on the streets themselves. However, a recent crackdown by the police had reduced the public nature of the drug scene, forcing groups of drug injectors to use more private and semi-public locations, as described below.

One street scene was on a busy side road in District One, which comprised many small shops and restaurants. Leading off the road was a labyrinth of narrow streets and alley-way six injectors two of whom were women were observed in various stages of intoxication.

Some lay on makeshift beds; others leaned against the wall waiting for their turn to be injected. On a small table in the alley-way was a blue plastic mug the "pot" , which contained the prepared opium solution. Only own syringe was observed, which the dealer used to inject his customers with the solution from the "pot". The opium itself was prepared in a separate room about 10 meters away, in a house in the next alley-way.

None of the injectors endeavoured to hide what they were doing while everyday activity took place around them. Recent police activity had closed many of the outdoor "shooting-galleries" that had been commonplace in the city parks and other open areas on roadsides and side streets. Consequently, the drug scene had retracted into more secluded sites, such as the archways under the roadway near the Bach Dang river.

An open-air "shooting-gallery" was situated in a series of arches under the road that flanked the Bach Dang river. The conditions were extremely unhygienic and it appeared that the drug injectors were using water from the river for the preparation of the solution. Two injectors were observed to be injecting into their groins probably the femoral vein using the same injecting equipment. About ten injectors both male and female congregated in the tiny cavity under the road, awaiting their turn to be injected.

An informant commented that a stream of drug users had been going to the site since 7 a. At noon, the site was a bustle of activity.

In an adjacent area there were a number of jetties where small boats ferried people across the river. A number of the small boats that served the area ferried prostitutes to the ships that were moored in the river and port. From the disproportionate number of women injectors at the site, it might be assumed that some of the injectors also worked as prostitutes, servicing the sailors from the ships, which came from a variety of countries.

At such areas, the drug dealer kept everything needed for drug injecting inside a bag. The term narcotic comes from the Greek word "narkotikos," which means "to make numb," and is the name of the group of drugs that includes opium and its derivatives. References to opium date back to 3, B.

It played a major role in the so-called Opium Wars in China in Certain varieties of poppy plants contain opium, a raw narcotic extracted from the plant in liquid form and then processed into a brownish powder known as refined opium.

It is then sold to drug manufacturers to make morphine and codeine; black market manufacturers alter morphine to produce heroin. Taken into the body, opiates plug into endorphin receptors in the brain, where they mimic the body's natural proteins that help regulate pain, pleasure and emotion.

There, narcotics slow down the central nervous system and often produce a short but powerful sensation of euphoria and well-being. In medicine, opiates have long been used to kill and control pain as well as suppress terrible coughing, induce sleep, and prevent diarrhea. Doctors have widely prescribed the opium derivative codeine as a pain and cough reliever over the years, although its use as a cough suppressant has waned in the face of new, less addictive drugs.

Today the growing opioid epidemic across the United States has many worried. Many people are addicted to OxyContin oxycodone and Vicodin hydrocodone opioids commonly prescribed for chronic pain management.

Similar to morphine, oxycodone can be addictive if not taken as directed. Historically, medicine's best-known opiate is morphine, which is 10 times stronger than codeine. Morphine's incredible analgesic qualities make it invaluable in hospitals and in the treatment of chronic pain. It's a tricky situation, however -- dependence occurs so easily that addiction caused by medical treatment is very common, according to Dr.

Almost all patients on morphine, codeine, or other prescription opiates develop dependence and go through some level of withdrawal upon discontinuing use. Relatively minor withdrawal symptoms may include runny nose, sweating and anxiety. Morphine's side effects can also include incoherence, vomiting, and suppression of the immune system, along with irregular or shallow breathing.

Respiratory failure is sometimes the cause of death in morphine overdoses. Along with their pain-killing qualities, opiates are also the most successful type of drug for treating severe diarrhea.

The popular over-the-counter drug Imodium loperamide , for example, is an opiate, but because it never enters the central nervous system it causes none of the addictive symptoms that morphine does.

Drug abuse can fall into two categories: prescription drugs and street drugs. The most common opioid prescriptions likely to be abused include oxycodone, codeine, fentanyl and hydrocodone. Although they come in pill form, they can be crushed and swallowed, snorted or injected. Around , recreational drug users discovered that prescription OxyContin tablets can be crushed and then injected or snorted, which produces a euphoric, heroin-like high.

The ability to get high by crushing the pill was announced as a "warning" on the drug's label. This practice quickly turned the medication into a highly addictive drug.

Addicted users often sought out doctors who would write oxycodone or hydrocodone prescriptions without thoroughly checking their medical histories. They sought out the drug on the streets, robbed summer cabins, and even raided medicine cabinets or stole prescription drugs from pharmacies. However, under pressure from federal agencies, the manufacturer changed the formulation in so that crushing the pills would not produce a euphoric high, and many addicted users went on to heroin instead, according to Science Daily.

Fentanyl -- known by its street names China White, Apache or TNT -- is a synthetic form of heroin that is drastically more potent. This halts the respiratory-depressing actions—and often sends a user into an agonizing drug withdrawal.

The second issue is potency: The synthetic drugs bind to receptors much more tightly than an opium-derived substance such as heroin or a semisynthetic opioid like oxycodone, so the antidote has difficulty reaching its destination. So what can be done? To get around these hurdles, doctors may give a patient multiple injections of naloxone—hopefully overwhelming the drugs that are competing for a place at key targets in the brain.

The situation at the mu-opioid receptors is akin to a crowd waiting to buy tickets for baseball game, Madras explains. That numbers issue, combined with the recent spike in synthetic opioid overdoses, has rekindled the debate about adjusting the default amount of naloxone used for overdose. Some doctors and researchers say yes , and suggest starting patients on two milligrams of the antidote instead of 0.

Naloxone is a pricey drug. Moreover, some individuals experiencing withdrawal may get violent, endangering others. A patient suffering from intense withdrawal may also become so ill, it discourages that person from trying to quit and enter into a treatment center, she adds. But so far there has been scant research in this direction. For now, Strain says he would first advocate deploying higher doses of naloxone, because that substance is available and addresses the problem at its source.

Meanwhile Madras thinks there may be another option. She suggests both emergency response workers and families of opioid users should have extra doses of standard-dose naloxone on hand.