Morphine is a pain medication of the opiate family that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies. There are numerous methods used to administer morphine: oral; sublingual; via inhalation; injection into a muscle; by injection under the skin; intravenously; injection into the space around the spinal cord; transdermal; or via rectal suppository. It acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to induce analgesia and alter perception and emotional response to pain. Physical and psychological dependence and tolerance may develop with repeated administration. It can be taken for both acute pain and chronic pain and is frequently used for pain from myocardial infarction, kidney stones, and during labor. Its maximum effect is reached after about 20 minutes when administered intravenously and 60 minutes when administered by mouth, while the duration of its effect is 3–7 hours. Long-acting formulations of morphine are available as MS-Contin, Kadian, and other brand names as well as generically.
Opium is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.
Thebaine (paramorphine), also known as codeine methyl enol ether, is an opiate alkaloid, its name coming from the Greek Θῆβαι, Thēbai (Thebes), an ancient city in Upper Egypt. A minor constituent of opium, thebaine is chemically similar to both morphine and codeine, but has stimulatory rather than depressant effects. At high doses, it causes convulsions similar to strychnine poisoning. The synthetic enantiomer (+)-thebaine does show analgesic effects apparently mediated through opioid receptors, unlike the inactive natural enantiomer (−)-thebaine. While thebaine is not used therapeutically, it is the main alkaloid extracted from Papaver bracteatum and can be converted industrially into a variety of compounds, including hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, nalbuphine, naloxone, naltrexone, buprenorphine, butorphanol and etorphine.
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates and opioids, commonly morphine and heroin, as well as derivatives of many of the compounds found within raw opium latex. The primary three are morphine, codeine, and thebaine.
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium during World War I, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime, especially in the UK, US, and Canada.
Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamental plant, grown in gardens. Its native range is probably the eastern Mediterranean, but is now obscured by ancient introductions and cultivation, being naturalized across much of Europe and Asia.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 is an international treaty that controls activities of specific narcotic drugs and establishes a system of regulations for their medical and scientific uses.
Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. The city of Ghazipur also constitutes one of the seven distinct tehsils, or subdivisions, of the Ghazipur district.
Neemuch or Nimach is a town in the malwa region. Neemuch crowns the north western part of MP. It has been also referred to city of Nature and Peace. The town shares its northwestern border with the state of Rajasthan and is the administrative headquarters of Neemuch District. Formerly a large British cantonment of Gwalior princely state, in 1822 the town became the headquarters of the combined Rajputana–Malwa political agency and of the Malwa Agency in 1895. The British Cantonment was disbanded in 1932 after which it was maintained by a British Municipal Board.
Poppy tea is a herbal tea infusion brewed from poppy straw or seeds of several species of poppy. The species most commonly used for this purpose is Papaver somniferum, which produces opium as a natural defense against predators. In the live flower, opium is released when the surface of the bulb, called the seed pod, is pierced or scraped. For the purpose of the tea, dried pods are more commonly used than the pods of the live flower. The walls of the dried pods contain opiate alkaloids, primarily consisting of morphine.
Afghanistan has long had a history of opium poppy cultivation and harvest. As of 2021, Afghanistan's harvest produces more than 90% of illicit heroin globally, and more than 95% of the European supply. More land is used for opium in Afghanistan than is used for coca cultivation in Latin America. The country has been the world's leading illicit drug producer since 2001. In 2007, 93% of the non-pharmaceutical-grade opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. By 2021 U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan (SIGAR) report quoted a U.S. official as estimating they derive up to 60% of their annual revenue from illicit narcotics. This amounts to an export value of about US$4 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords, and drug traffickers. In the seven years (1994–2000) prior to a Taliban opium ban, the Afghan farmers' share of gross income from opium was divided among 200,000 families. As of 2017, opium production provides about 400,000 jobs in Afghanistan, more than the Afghan National Security Forces. In addition to opium, Afghanistan is also the world's leading producer of hashish.
Pantopon, also known as Opium Alkaloids Hydrochlorides, is a preparation of opiates made up of all of the alkaloids present in opium in their natural proportions as hydrochlorides salts. It can sometimes be tolerated by people who are allergic to morphine.
Afghan morphine or "Poppy for Medicine" is an alternative development solution put forward to combat the poverty and public disenchantment caused by international counter-narcotics eradication policies in Afghanistan. Licensing opium poppy cultivation in order to locally manufacture and market Afghan morphine, according to this proposal, would create the economic conditions to empower poverty stricken rural Afghans and cut their ties with the illicit poppy trade.
The illegal drug trade in China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions. China has one-fifth of the world's population and a large and expanding economy. China's large land mass, close proximity to the Golden Triangle, Golden Crescent, and numerous coastal cities with large and modern port facilities make it an attractive transit center for drug traffickers. Opium has played an important role in the country's history since before the First and Second Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.
Legal cultivation of opium for medicinal purposes is carried out in India, only in selected areas, under free licensing conditions. India is the world's largest manufacturer of legal opium for the pharmaceutical industry according to the CIA World Factbook. India is one among 12 countries in world where legal cultivation for medical use is permissible within the ambit of United Nations, Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961. In India legal cultivation is done primarily in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Despite producing poppy for opium production India depends heavily on imports to meet need of Poppy seed for edible purposes and domestic Codeine demand for medical purposes . Opium is heavily imported from its top producing nations like Afghanistan. There is also an account of Opium black marketing in India.
Poppy straw is derived from opium poppies that are harvested when fully mature and dried by mechanical means, minus the ripe poppy seeds. Opium poppy straw today can be one of several different things. It is what remains after the poppy seed harvest, that is, the dried stalks, stem and leaves of poppies grown for their seeds. The dried leaves and stalks are harvested after the seed pods have been used for traditional opium extraction. The field dried leaves, stalk and seed pod are used in commercial manufacture of morphine or other poppy alkaloid derived drugs, by first processing the material to make poppy straw separating the seeds then making concentrate of poppy straw, where no extraction using traditional methods of latex extraction has been made. The straw was originally considered an agricultural by-product of the mechanised poppy seed harvest, which was primarily grown for its edible and oil-producing seed. This changed in 1927 when János Kabay developed a chemical process to extract morphine from the crushed capsule. Concentrated poppy straw consisting mainly of the crushed capsule without the seeds soon became a valuable source of morphine. Today, concentrate of poppy straw is a major source of many opiates and other alkaloids. It is the source of 90% of the world supply of legal morphine and in some countries it also is a source of illegal morphine, which could be processed into illegal heroin.
Extractas Bioscience is the largest opium poppy processing company in the Australian state of Tasmania. Approximately forty percent of the world's legal opiate crop is grown in Tasmania. Tasmanian Alkaloids was a subsidiary of the United States pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, but was formerly—as of 1980—a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories.
The major drug laws of India are the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1985) and the Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (1988).
Central Bureau of Narcotics is affiliated with India's Department of Revenue (IRS) and regulated by the country's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. The main function of CBN is to stop opium production and trade, and to issue licenses for production of legal synthetic drugs. The Central Bureau of Narcotics headquarters is located at Gwalior.
Isoquinoline alkaloids are natural products of the group of alkaloids, which are chemically derived from isoquinoline. They form the largest group among the alkaloids.