Opiates (Narcotics) Fact Sheet:

 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.

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration in cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse


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