New Faces of Heroin Addiction

The history of opium, opiates and opioids goes way back. Opium was used in prehistoric times according to research:

The earliest reference to opium growth and use is in 3,400 B.C. when the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia (Southwest Asia). The Sumerians referred to it as Hul Gil, the “joy plant.” The Sumerians soon passed it on to the Assyrians, who in turn passed it on to the Egyptians. As people learned of the power of opium, demand for it increased. Many countries began to grow and process opium to expand its availability and to decrease its cost. Its cultivation spread along the Silk Road, from the Mediterranean through Asia and finally to China where it was the catalyst for the Opium Wars of the mid-1800s.

In the late 19th century the methods to isolate morphine then heroin from opium were discovered along with the hypodermic needle, and this led to several periods of heroin epidemics. For the longest time in the US, heroin use has been associated with poor whites and minorities. Most Americans thought of heroin as something poor people did and something bad guys sold illegally for profit. There have been several government efforts to deal with heroin addiction, but for the most part society relegated that problem to inner city ghettoes.

Surely most people have heard lately about the opioid epidemic. To clarify the language:

An opiate is a substance derived from the poppy plant (which contains opium). Opiates are sometimes called “natural” since the active ingredient molecules are made by nature, not manufactured by chemical synthesis. Common opiates include morphine and codeine, both made directly from poppy plants.

An opioid is a substance (molecule) that is synthetic or partly synthetic, meaning the active ingredients (molecules) are manufactured via chemical synthesis. Opioids may act just like opiates in the human body, because of the similar molecules.

opiate – narcotic analgesic derived from a opium poppy (natural)

opioid – narcotic analgesic that is at least part synthetic, not found in nature

The terms are often used interchangeably. On the street, “heroin” may mean synthetic, natural, or semi-synthetic compounds. Manufactured opioids like Oxycontin are sometimes called “synthetic heroin”, also adding to the confusion. Genuine “heroin” as originally formulated is technically considered an opioid, since it is chemically manufactured, although molecules from the opium plant are used in the process. Some of heroin’s active ingredient molecules are not found in nature.

Currently many references are using opioid to refer to all opium-like substances (including opiates and opioids), and limiting the use of “opiates” to only natural opium poppy derived drugs like morphine.

As more and more people are prescribed opioids and become addicted, more and more people suffer from heroin addiction when they become desperate and can no longer get or afford legal prescriptions. The difference with this latest epidemic is that heroin and opioid addiction are affecting people from all walks of life. Young affluent white kids are overdosing and dying. Unfortunately, it takes reaching people with influence before action is taken. Maybe America will finally learn about addiction — and recovery.