Opioid Drugs And Their Receptor

In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act, that was years in the making was finally passed under President Roosevelt. This law reflected a sea change in medicine-- an unprecedented wave of regulations. No longer could drug companies have a secret formula and hide potentially toxic substances such as heroin under their patent. The law required drug companies to specify the ingredients of medications on the label. It also regulated the purity and dosage of substances. Not by mere coincidence was the law passed only about five years after Bayer, a German based drug company began selling the morphine derivative, heroin. Thought to be a safe, non-habit forming alternative to morphine, heroin quickly became the “cure-all drug” that was used to treat

Opioids are classified as opium like compounds; some (ex. codeine and morphine) exist naturally in opium, which is a gummy substance derived from the seedpod of the opium poppy, indigenous to Southern Asia. Other opioids are of the synthetic category, such as methadone or fentanyl (opioidaddictionsource.com). Though the use of prescription opioids may be well intended, due to their effect on the brain chemistry, it is fairly common for one to become addicted to them; America is amidst a raging prescription opioid epidemic, in fact.

Heroin was initially created by Charles Wright in 1874 to combat Morphine addiction amongst Civil War soldiers. The commercial production of heroin began in 1898, by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company, and their “sales pitch” persuaded people that Heroin was a “safe, non-addictive” substitute for morphine, therefore, gaining popularity amongst healthcare professionals and their morphine addicted patients. As a result, numerous

The roots of methadone were founded in Germany. In the 1930s, a team of German scientists produced the chemical structure of methadone, while searching for a pain-killing drug that would be less addictive than the commonly used pain medication morphine (University of Maryland, 2013, para. 2). Methadone was introduced to the United States in 1947 as a pain reliever for a variety of medical conditions (University of Maryland, 2013, para. 2). Shortly after the introduction of methadone into the United States, “Intravenous abuse of heroin intensified in New York City after World War II, and by the 1950s and 1960s, reached epidemic proportions” (Joseph, Stancliff, & Landgord, 2000, p. 347). The New York City death rate associated with injection

The opioid epidemic in America continues to grow at an alarming rate with no end in sight. All narcotics are derived from the opium poppy plant and then manufactured into different forms of drugs such as morphine, heroin, and other pharmaceutical and synthetic opioid drugs sold on the market for pain. Opium derived drugs block and suppress pain by binding to and stimulating the natural receptor sites for endorphins found in the central nervous system of a user’s brain. Patients who are prescribed narcotic drugs can quickly become addicted to the drugs because their body’s will stop producing endorphins and instead

2008). “Scientists had been looking for some time for a non-addictive substitute for morphine. Diacetylmorphine was first synthesized in the Bayer laboratory in Wuppertal, Germany in 1897- by Felix Hoffman…. Yet the white, odorless, crystalline powder deriving from morphine, had been invented in 1874 by an English chemist, C. R. Wright. Bayer had a registered trademark on heroin in August of 1898, in the U.S.”(Askwith 1998). “In a

Oxycodone is the main drug I am concentrating on even though there are many opiates or schedule II drugs that are considered Opioids. Oxycodone was first created as part of an effort to find non-addictive alternatives to morphine and heroin, which were commonly used in medicine before World War I. Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic, ?Pain Killer? that is most often prescribed to control moderate to severe pain that must not be used with other medications. It is a slightly synthetic opiate that was created in 1916. The chemicals found in Poppy plants also make as morphine and heroin. Opiate:?A drug (such as morphine, codeine or heroin) containing or derived from opium or the opium poppy, used to alleviate pain, or induce sleep or euphoria. "Some Facts You Should Know About the History of Oxycodone." A Forever Recovery. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. Opioid:?A synthetic or semi-synthetic substance producing an opium-like effect, often prescribed for the alleviation of moderate to severe pain; a prescription painkiller in the opiate class.

Oxycodone is the main drug I am concentrating on even though there are many opiates or schedule II drugs that are considered Opioids. Oxycodone was first created as part of an effort to find non-addictive alternatives to morphine and heroin, which were commonly used in medicine before World War I. Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic, ?Pain Killer? that is most often prescribed to control moderate to severe pain that must not be used with other medications. It is a slightly synthetic opiate that was created in 1916. The chemicals found in Poppy plants also make as morphine and heroin. Opiate:?A drug (such as morphine, codeine or heroin) containing or derived from opium or the opium poppy, used to alleviate pain, or induce sleep or euphoria. Opioid:?A synthetic or semi-synthetic substance producing an opium-like effect, often prescribed for alleviation of moderate to severe pain; a prescription painkiller in the opiate class.

As we see the further progression of the opioid epidemic within the United States, pharmacists become the frontlines to recognizing and providing care for these patients. It is however difficult to provide care for a patient when even the professionals within the medical community have an associated stigma attached to the use of these drugs. Patients who have a need for these painkillers recognize this stigma, and by doing so decide to avoid consulting their doctors and do not seek the care which they need. They do this to avoid the discriminatory treatment they receive both within and on the outside of the healthcare system, and to avoid the legal repercussions associated with the misuse and abuse of these products1. It is therefore the pharmacists' job to avoid the stigmatization of these people and respect those who use these treatments for legitimate medical purposes.

Opioid addiction is a condition that is preventable as well as one which individuals display several noticeable risk factors before the actual addiction prognosis to the point of causing death. There is a strong correlation between the early misuse of prescription opioids, which are prescribed for non-cancer pain management, and the development of a dependence on such opioids. Early detection of risk factors such as the misuse of opioids that are prescribed will help indicate that a patient is developing an addiction.1 Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare providers must closely monitor patients and the rate at which opioids are consumed as well as refilled.

For thousands of years, opiates have been used in the treatment of pain. Opium is believed to have been discovered 6000 BC, and since then, it has had a huge impact on both medicine and the recreations of those seeking euphoria. More recent than the ancient discovery of natural opium are the derivatives of opium, such as the alkaloids morphine, codeine, and thebaine. From these alkaloids, semi-synthetic opiates can by synthesized, such as hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Synthetic opioids are also quite prevalent, which include fentanyl and tramadol. Opium can also be processed into heroin, a morphine derivative. As advancements were made in science and engineering to allow for a wider distribution and usage of opiates, the problems of dependence and overdose also increased drastically. According to Hart and Ksir (2013, p. 302), the invention of the hypodermic needle for intravenous administration of morphine and other drugs allowed for a much faster and more potent dose of the drug. With this increased potency came an increase in the possibility of a recreational intravenous user to overdose. Hart also mentions that some of the wars surrounding the era of the synthesis of morphine may have contributed to the rise of morphine, seeing as a medic soldier’s motto was always “first provide relief” (2013). This relief-driven attitude and extensive use of opioid analgesics in medicine during the time, in addition to the large amount of patent medicines and remedies on the market may

In 2014, more people died from drug overdoses then in any other year on record. A substantial amount of deaths were due to drug overdose on opioids, according to the CDC. (2015:64). In 1901, surgeon Racoviceanu-Pitesti published his first report on opioids for intrathecal anesthesia. In 1979, a report on the use of morphine as a treatment for pain was made, by Behar and his colleagues. Epidural and spinal opioids are today part of a routine regimen for intra- and postoperative anesthesia, according to Fisher (2003:683). Historically opioids have been used as painkillers, however the potential for misuse is huge; when these are used repeatedly, it increases the risk of developing an addiction. The use of illegal opiate drugs such as heroin

In late 1800s to 1916 pharmacists and chemical manufacturers foreseen a way to make a non-addictive opioid. Heroin, marketed by the Bayer Corporation of Germany in the 1890s, was originally at the beginning of this. After heroin?s ban in America, two German scientists created oxycodone. It was recognized as a non-addictive, semi-synthetic substitute

During World War II, the United States and our allies cut off Germany’s opium supply. As a result, German scientists developed methadone in 1937 as an attempt to develop a synthetic opioid that could be created with readily available precursors in order to solve Germany’s opium shortage. These scientists were working for I.G. Farbenindustrie AG at the Farbwerke Hoechst. Upon completion of the war, Farbwerke Hoechst was required by the U.S. Department of Commerce to relinquish all patents, trade names, and research records. In 1947, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association gave the drug its generic name “methadone”. As the patent rights of “methadone” were no longer protected, any pharmaceutical company interested in the product could invest with ease. In 1947, Eli Lilly and Company became the first pharmaceutical company to introduce methadone into the United

It is believed that the first people to use drugs were the Sumerians, who used opium, a highly addictive narcotic drug. This fact was suggested by Professor Lindesmith of Indiana University who interpreted an ideogram that was found and it was translated as HUL, meaning “joy” or “rejoicing.” (“Timeline of Events in the History of Drugs,” 2012). It can be interpreted that the Sumerians used opium for their own pleasure and for fun. Medicine today is used to help suppress symptoms and help our bodies cure sicknesses. The history of painkillers go back to the sixteenth century where laudanum, opium prepared in an alcoholic solution, was used as a painkiller (“Painkillers: A Short History”). Opiates, have