what is the difference between heroin and opium?
Answers
Answer:
Opium vs. Heroin – Identifying Differences
Both of these substances offer similar effects, namely creating euphoria and suppressing pain. Of course, there are many differences when we look at opium vs. heroin. Opium comes directly from the naturally occurring narcotic manufacturers extract from the sap of unripe bulbs of the poppy plant. The drug counts morphine as its active ingredient, which works to suppress pain receptors in the brain.
Heroin is a synthetic substance that uses opium as it’s the primary active ingredient. The manufacturing process dictates manufacturers convert the opium into pure morphine, which then turns into chemically-changed heroin. The process produces a substance that has a higher level of potency than the opium extract. The higher potency leads to more euphoria and eventually, more significant problems.
From a legal standpoint, the FDA classifies opium as a legal substance when manufacturers make the substance in legal labs/factories. A doctor will prescribe this medication for the treatment of moderate to severe pain issues. Heroin is an illicit substance, meaning people cannot legally manufacture or sell the drug in the US. Because of the drug’s potency, it is very much in demand on the streets. As such, it creates a mound of societal problems with which we all have to deal.
Heroin and prescription pain relievers have similar chemical qualities. Heroin is an opioid and there are places in the United States where this drug is cheaper than prescription opioids. Some surveys state that approximately 5% of people who abuse prescription drugs then progress to heroin use. Heroin abuse has doubled in the past decade.
Answer:
– Identifying Differences
Both of these substances offer similar effects, namely creating euphoria and suppressing pain. Of course, there are many differences when we look at opium vs. heroin. Opium comes directly from the naturally occurring narcotic manufacturers extract from the sap of unripe bulbs of the poppy plant. The drug counts morphine as its active ingredient, which works to suppress pain receptors in the brain.
Heroin is a synthetic substance that uses opium as it’s the primary active ingredient. The manufacturing process dictates manufacturers convert the opium into pure morphine, which then turns into chemically-changed heroin. The process produces a substance that has a higher level of potency than the opium extract. The higher potency leads to more euphoria and eventually, more significant problems.
From a legal standpoint, the FDA classifies opium as a legal substance when manufacturers make the substance in legal labs/factories. A doctor will prescribe this medication for the treatment of moderate to severe pain issues. Heroin is an illicit substance, meaning people cannot legally manufacture or sell the drug in the US. Because of the drug’s potency, it is very much in demand on the streets. As such, it creates a mound of societal problems with which we all have to deal.
Heroin and prescription pain relievers have similar chemical qualities. Heroin is an opioid and there are places in the United States where this drug is cheaper than prescription opioids. Some surveys state that approximately 5% of people who abuse prescription drugs then progress to heroin use. Heroin abuse has doubled in the past decade.