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their country and the use of the drug became common. Opium addiction rose in alarming
proportions and the drug was frequently found in people's homes throughout the 18th and 19th
centuries.
Alternatives to opium were soon found. Scientists wanted to preserve the medicinal
properties of opium such as pain relief and cough suppression but they also wanted to modify
the drug so that it was less addictive.
Between 1805 and 1816, a pharmacist's assistant called Friedrich Wilhelm Serturner
managed to isolate a yellowish-white crystalline compound from crude opium after immersing it
in ammoniated hot water. He first tested this compound on a few dogs which resulted in their
death. He then tested smaller doses on himself and some boys and found that the effects were
pain relief and euphoria. He also noted that high doses of the drug could lead to psychiatric
effects, nausea, vomiting, depression of the cough, constipation and slowed breathing. Pain
relief with the use of this compound, however, was ten times that experienced with opium use.
Serturner named his compound morphine, after the Greek God of dreams, Morpheus.
Morphine soon began to gain popularity as a pain reliever. The drug was commercially
produced in the mid-19th century and was used as an alternative to opium and also as a
substitution therapy to help cure opium addiction. In 1853, the first hypodermic needle was
perfected providing an enhanced mode of administration where the drug could be delivered
directly to the bloodstream.
During the mid-19th century, both opium and cocaine addiction were on the rise and
laudanum (an opium tonic) and snuff which contained cocaine were popular.
Soldiers who had been injured during war became some of the first people to develop morphine
addiction and morphine dependence was nicknamed "Soldier's Disease." Increasingly,
morphine was being injected using hypodermic needles. (Stewart, Judith. "Drugs.com |
Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side Effects." <i>Drugs.com</i>. Karen
Wilson, 4 Nov. 2015. Web.) The early 20th century, governments and governing bodies
worldwide passed tough legislations banning morphine abuse. For example, the Harrison
Narcotics Act which restricted morphine abuse was passed by Congress in 1914. Similarly, in
1970, the Controlled Substances Act which classifies morphine as a schedule II drug, was
passed.
Morphine, is a narcotic that acts directly on the central nervous system. Besides
relieving pain, it impairs mental and physical performance, relieves fear and anxiety, and
produces euphoria. It also decreases hunger, inhibits the cough reflex, produces constipation,
and usually reduces the sex drive; in women it may interfere with the menstrual cycle.
Morphine is highly addictive. Tolerance and physical and psychological dependence develop
quickly. Withdrawal from morphine causes nausea, tearing, yawning, chills, and sweating lasting
up to three days. Morphine crosses the placental barrier, and babies born to morphine-using
mothers go through withdrawal. (Macdonald, Joann. Morphine" <i>Youth Health Magzine
RSS</i>. Jesse Lent, 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.) Today morphine is used medicinally for severe
pain, cough suppression, and sometimes before surgery. It is seldom used illicitly except by
doctors and other medical personnel who have access to the drug. It is injected, taken orally or
inhaled, or taken through rectal suppositories. Methadone treatment has been useful in curing
morphine addiction.
Although morphine is most commonly used as a means of providing pain relief. The side effects
of morphine vary somewhat and while some of the adverse effects seen with initial therapy are
short-term, others may be long-term, especially when the drug is used over longer durations of
time.
Some common side effects associated with morphine use include:
and constipation. Opioid receptors for morphine are present in the gastrointestinal tract and their
activation may lead to a slowing of gut movement, leading to constipation. Long-term use leads
to severe constipation. In addition, morphine stimulates the vomiting centre of the brain causing
nausea and vomiting. Morphine and codeine cause more nausea than other opioids. There may
be drying of the mouth as well.
Sedation - Named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, morphine is one of
the most powerful sedative opioids. People taking morphine are therefore advised to refrain
from driving and operating heavy machinery to avoid accidents.
Skin changes - Morphine may lead to the release of histamine in the skin leading
to warmth, flushing and urticaria or allergic eruptions across the skin. Skin may appear cool and
clammy and a severe chill called hypothermia may develop.
Shrunken pupils - Morphine may cause the pupils to constrict and appear pin-
pointed in size.
response to low blood oxygen. In healthy individuals, as blood oxygen falls and blood carbon
dioxide rises, the drive for breathing increases. However, morphine suppresses this drive in the
brain, potentially causing this very dangerous side effect. Respiratory depression is more
common with higher doses.
Initial doses lead to euphoria but at higher doses unpleasant symptoms such as
hallucinations, delirium, dizziness and confusion manifest. There may be some amount of
headache and memory loss.
overdose.
With high doses, muscle rigidity and abnormal movement of the limbs and
muscles called myoclonus may manifest. ("Dove Medical Press - Open Access Publisher of
Medical Journals." <i>Dove Medical Press - Open Access Publisher of Medical Journals</i>.
N.p., 2015. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.) One of the prominent side effects of morphine use is the
development of physical or psychological dependence on the drug and withdrawal symptoms
when the drug is stopped. Morphine is a highly addictive substance and some of the withdrawal
symptoms include pain, loss of sleep, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, goose bumps, hot and cold
flashes and intense craving.
drug in higher doses to achieve the same degree of e.g. euphoria or pain relief as before.
Developing a tolerance in this way often means addicts use higher doses of the drug.