Daniel Mensah February 27,2019

Class 403

 
Opioids are drugs naturally found in the opium poppy plant.Opioids are medicine 

that contain chemicals that relax the body and relieve pain. “According to mayoclinic” 

Prescription opioids is used to treat moderate to severe pain.” “Opioids are prescribed 

for a lot of different things.”Some opioids can be used to treat coughing and diarrhea. 

Opioids can make people feel very relaxed and high ,which “can” cause people to use 

them for non medical reasons. This can be dangerous because opioids can be highly 

addictive, and can cause overdoses , death is common. Prescription painkillers, or 

opioids, are supposed to help us get back to health. But opioids, including cocaine and 

heroin, kill instead of heal.Comedian and actor john Belushi known for his work on 

saturday night live died after a combination of heroin and cocaine.   

One type of popular opioid is heroin. It is used “ for pain relief and are generally safe 

when taken for a short time and prescribed by a doctor. But like any opioid it can be 

misused. Like I previously said people misuse prescription opioids to feel 

good.According to drugabuse.gov, “opioids bind to and activate opioid receptors on 

cells located in areas such as the brain, spinal cord, and other organs in the body.” This 

causes pain signals sent from the brain to the body . When the pain signal is blocked 

large amounts of dopamine is released throughout the body. When dopamine is 

released its prevents shock by increasing blood flow but when its restricted it leads to 

many symptoms like muscle cramps,aches and pain and muscle stiffness. This release 

makes the person using it want to keep using it.Opioid misuse can lead to breathing 
Daniel Mensah February 27,2019
Class 403
problems. These can cause breathing problems hypoxia)which means the body doesn’t 

have enough oxygen.Without enough oxygen the brain basically suffocates causing it to 

shut down. This Hypoxia can cause short and long term mental and brain effects, like 

coma , permanent brain damage, or death.”  

Researchers have been investigating the long term effects of opioid addiction on 

the brain, trying to figure out if the damage can be reversed. In recent studies it shows 

older adults are at higher risk of accidental misuse or abuse. This most likely because 

they typically have multiple prescriptions and chronic diseases. Doctors prescribe these 

type of drugs for patients who are having extreme pain or about to finish surgery to 

cope with pain and get addicted. 

Sharing drug injection equipment and having impaired judgment from drug use 

can increase the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV .Prescription 

opioids and heroin are chemically similar and can produce a similar high feeling. As 

stated In some places, heroin is cheaper and easier to get than doctor prescribed 

opioids, so some people switch to using heroin instead. Nearly 80 percent of Americans 

using heroin including those in treatment reported misusing prescription opioids prior to 

using heroin.