Opiates (also called narcotics) are drugs that alleviate pain, depress body functions and reactions, and when taken in large doses, cause a strong euphoric feeling.

Description

  • Natural and natural derivatives - opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin.

  • Synthetics - meperidine (Demerol), oxymorphone (Numorphan), and oxycodone (Percodan).
  • May be taken in pill form, smoked, or injected, depending upon the type of narcotic used.
  • Trade/street names include smack, horse, Emma, Big D, dollies, juice, syrup and China white.

Signs and Symptoms

  • Mood changes

  • Impaired mental functioning and alertness
  • Constricted pupils
  • Depression and apathy
  • Impaired coordination
  • Physical fatigue and drowsiness
  • Nausea, vomiting and constipation
  • Impaired respiration

Health Effects

  • Intravenous needle users have a high risk for contracting hepatitis and AIDS due to the sharing of needles.

  • Narcotics increase pain tolerance. As a result, people could more severely injure themselves or fail to seek medical attention after an accident due to the lack of pain sensitivity.
  • Narcotics’ effects are multiplied when used in combination with other depressant drugs and alcohol, causing increased risk for overdose.

Social Issues

  • There are over 500,000 heroin addicts in the U.S., most of who are intravenous needle users.

  • An even greater number of medicinal narcotic-dependent persons obtain their narcotics through prescriptions.
  • Because of tolerance, there is an ever-increasing need for more narcotics to produce the same effect.
  • Strong mental and physical dependency occurs.
  • The combination of tolerance and dependency creates an increasing financial burden for the user. Costs for heroin can reach hundreds of dollars a day.

School or Workplace Issues

  • Unwanted side effects such as nausea, vomiting, mental clouding, and drowsiness place the legitimate user and abuser at higher risk for an accident.

  • Narcotics’ effects are multiplied when used in combination with other depressant drugs and alcohol, causing increased risk for an overdose.
  • Narcotics have a legitimate medical use in alleviating pain. Workplace use may cause impairment of physical and mental functions.

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