Opioids

Opioids are a class of drugs including fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, and more.

Opium is a milky liquid substance extracted from unripe poppy plant seeds

It's been used for ages to reduce pain and induce euphoria, both of which are side effects of the plant's alkaloids—nitrogen-based compounds with pronounced physical effects. Isolating and synthesizing derivatives of these naturally occurring chemicals enabled the invention of morphine, heroin, and other opioids.

Evidence of opium use dates to as early as 5000 BCE

Archaeological evidence shows the use of the poppy plant for its pain-killing properties likely originated in the Mediterranean before making its way to the East and West via trade. It has since inspired two eponymous wars, and highly addictive derivatives of the naturally occurring substance have led to an ongoing overdose crisis.

Morphine, heroin, codeine, and more were derived from opium

Opium reached the US at about the time early colonists were itching for ways to soothe aches and pains. The active ingredient in the substance was isolated in the early 19th century, eventually leading to the manufacture and commercial sale of morphine, heroin, and other opium-based drugs.

Opioids mimic naturally produced endorphins to dull pain.

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Pulitzer-winning look at the opioid epidemic

Synthetic opioids kill someone in the US every 16 minutes. Communities across the country have been ravaged by deaths, overdoses, jail time, and babies born with drug-related medical problems as opioid abuse became a typical feature of many American towns. This seven-part exposé provides an inside look at the effect in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky.

Opium's history traces from religious use to mass-market commercial products

Religious or medical use of opium was present across Europe and Asia as early as 5000 BCE. By the 16th century, humanity had come to see opium as more than medicine: It was a marketable product. This perspective also defines today's relationship with opioids, highly addictive painkillers at the heart of an ongoing drug crisis.

One person dies from opioids every 7 to 8 minutes

This collection of infographics by the National Institute for Health Care Management helps put the crisis into perspective. The opioid epidemic has had three waves. Opioid-related deaths increasingly involve synthetic versions of the drug class, contributing to 83 percent of all opioid-related deaths in 2020. Use these infographics to learn more about the crisis.

Synthetic opioids: a historical and clinical review

In the 19th century, researchers began synthesizing and isolating poppy plant alkaloids, leading to the invention of morphine, codeine, heroin, oxycodone, and others. These highly addictive variants eventually gave rise to illicit use and a widespread underground market, laying the foundation for the current opioid crisis.

Narcan is an opioid antagonist that can rapidly reverse overdoses

Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is an opioid-overdose reversal medication that typically begins working within a few minutes. An opioid antagonist, the treatment attaches to opioid receptors without activating them, forcing opioid molecules out of their respective receptors and allowing users' breathing rates to normalize.