Natural opiate-based painkillers

Morphine and codeine are extracted from opium, which itself is the dried milk of the opium poppy. Morphine and codeine are both powerful painkilling drugs that act directly on the central nervous system. Whilst Morphine is significantly stronger than codeine, they can be considered together because of their natural origins.

Both morphine and codeine can be very addictive. Frequent use of strong codeine tablets can lead to chronic headaches, which a user would then take more to cure the pain, which develops a cycle of consumption, leading to dependence. Adverse effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation and drowsiness. There are more serious side effects in larger doses, such as respiratory depression, hypotension & muscle rigidity.

Morphine is prescribed to relieve severe chronic pain, such as cancer pain, and after severe injury or surgery. Codeine is most commonly used in conjunction with ibuprofen and paracetamol to treat moderate pain, however recently there have been calls to only use it for pain that can not be relieved by paracetamol, aspirin or ibuprofen alone.

Both morphine and codeine are regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. An All Party Parliamentary Group on Drug Misuse report estimates that over 30,000 people in the UK are addicted to some form of painkiller containing codeine.

Painkillers are sometimes taken to relieve the ‘come down’ from using other drugs, such as speed or other amphetamines. It can be dangerous to mix depressants such as alcohol with pain killers, which in some cases can lead to death.

Click here for references