What does opium do to your mind?

Answer 1

This depends on several different factors. The potency of the opium, user tolerance, method of administration, etc... The ingredients in opium that actually cause the "high" or "buzz" are morphine, codeine, thebaine, and several others. These chemicals are known as opium alkaloids or opiates. If you do a little research on these chemicals, and how the body if effected by and uses them, you will get a much better understanding. Opium is actually a "cocktail" of several different narcotic alkaloids. Even opium itself varies from plant to plant, and has different levels of each alkaloid in it. You will easily be able to find MUCH information on how these alkaloids work and how they are used. I can describe how they work, basically, however...

When an opiate enters the body, it is taken into the bloodstream. The blood carries it to the brain, where it attaches to special receptors in the brain (between the synapses) called "opiate receptors" or "opioid receptors" (to be more generic). When these molecules attach to the receptors, they actually slow down the signals from the nerves in the body to the brain. These signals from the body's nerves are what tells the brain "OUCH!" when something hurts you, and you feel the pain. Since the opiates slow down, or almost totally block out these signals, pain is barely, if at all, felt. The body will feel slightly numb, or desensitized for lack of a better word. The opiates also cause the brain to release high levels of serotonin and dopamine, which are natural endorphins that make you feel pleasure or happiness. The high levels that opiates cause the brain to release cause a feeling of euphoria (EXTREME happiness), content, safety and security, confidence, and general well-being and satisfaction. It is a depressant-narcotic, so it slows down the central nervous system (CNS). This can cause dizziness, uncoordinated movement, nausea, lethargy and drowsiness, slowed heartbeat and breathing, and several other side effects. However, side-effects vary greatly from person to person, with some experiencing very few or none, and some experiencing several or almost all. It depends on the person's body chemistry and their opiate tolerance. Different opiates have only slightly different effects, and in essences, they all serve the same basic purpose.

Just do a little research on opiate alkaloids and how they work in the body. You will understand it better. Remember that opium is NOT just one drug, but several different ones that come from the same plant's resin (or latex/gum). Drugs like diacetylmorphine (aka Heroin) are actually semi-synthetic and are NOT found naturally in the opium plant. Drugs like this are instead refined from the natural alkaloids to form new substances. Be sure to look up the NATURAL alkaloids found in opium that have not been tampered with. Examples are, once again,: Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine, and several others...

Little known fact:

Did you know that Heroin is actually a brand-name? It certainly is! Heroin is actually Diacetylmorphine, a chemically altered form of morphine which has a better bio-availability and acts quicker in the body. It was created by what is now know as Bayer Aspirin Co., a German pharmaceutical company. Bayer Aspirin was actually called Bayer Heroin, until the drug was removed from the market and made illegal due to abuse and addiction problems. So next time you see that bottle of Bayer Aspirin, remember what Bayer REALLY got started with! HAHA!

...and No, this is NOT a joke. It IS TRUE!

Answer 2

Opiates are known to be reasonably friendly to your liver.

Morphine is the main molecule of opium which is processed by the liver when Opium is ingested as a food or liquid. Anything that is metabolised by the liver can eventually be harmful, particularly in large doses.

Liver disease or failure being linked to Opiates is usually caused by medications which have other harmful ingredients such as Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) or ibuprofen, which even in small doses can be harmful to the liver.

Answer 3

Opiates work by targeting the opiate receptors in the brain. When opiates are put into the body, no matter the method, they find their way into the bloodstream. This carries the opiate to the brain. Once at the brain, the opiates attach themselves to the receptors in the brain that cause pain. Therefore No pain. This makes it easy to get addicted.

Answer 4

Effects on the Body

The power of opium's effects depends on how it is delivered into the body. It works fast when smoked, because the opiate chemicals pass into the lungs, where they are quickly absorbed by blood vessels and sent to the brain. Opium's effects occur more slowly when it is eaten or mixed in a liquid, because then the drug has to pass through the stomach and upper intestines, and into the liver before moving on to the brain. The process of digestion weakens the drug as it passes through the various organs before being absorbed by the bloodstream.

An opium high is very similar to a heroin high. The user experiences a rush of pleasure, followed by an extended period of relaxation, freedom from anxiety, and the relief of physical pain. Breathing slows and the pupils of the eyes become like pinpoints. In the brain, opium binds to the receptors that search for pleasure-enhancing endorphinsA group of naturally occurring substances in the body that relieve pain and promote a sense of well-being. and painkilling enkephalinsPronounced en-KEFF-uh-linz; naturally occurring brain chemicals that produce drowsiness and dull pain.. Because opium floods these receptors, it produces a higher state of pleasure than the body can produce on its own. Opium also inhibits muscle movement in the bowels, leading to constipation, or the inability to have a bowel movement. It works on the part of the brain that controls coughing and---especially when smoked---can dry out the mouth and the mucous membranes in the nose. The effects of a dose of opium last about four hours.

A Hard Cycle to Break

Continued use of opium produces two effects: 1) tolerance, or the need for greater and greater doses of a substance to achieve the same original effect; and 2) dependence, a physical and psychological craving for the drug. When people take higher doses, or take opium more often, they run the risk of overdosing. An overdose can kill because people just stop breathing and quickly die of asphyxiation. (It was this effect that led the ancient Romans to use opium as a poison.) Dependence occurs when the user begins to experience withdrawal symptoms when the drug's effects wear off. These symptoms occur because, in the presence of opium, the brain stops making its own pleasure-enhancing compounds. So, the rest of the body adjusts to the presence of the drug as well.

When the user quits taking opium, the body rebounds with a set of withdrawal symptoms that mimic a bout of the flu. The symptoms include watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing or yawning, muscle pains and involuntary motion, anxiety and agitation, nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, and cold sweats. Some people experience goosebumps, which is where the term "quitting cold turkey" came into being. These unpleasant symptoms can last from three to five days.

If quitting opiates was as easy as overcoming a bout of the flu, addiction would not be a problem. However, most opium users also suffer an extended period of dysphoria (diss-FOR-ee-yuh), a long-lasting period of anxiety, depression, and lessened enjoyment of life. It is dysphoria that usually leads the opium user back to the drug for relief---and the whole cycle of abuse starts again. Addiction to opium can turn good citizens into criminals as they search for ways to obtain the drug. In the regions of the world where illegal opium is grown, farmers who wish to make an honest living are often bullied into growing poppies by corrupt officials, or forced to grow them out of economic need. Even if they do not use the drug themselves, they are trapped by the environment of crime that opiate addiction creates

Answer 5

well it make you want opium every time until u die loool

Answer 6

i think it gives you energy because mohammed asif- a cricket player was banned from cricket for carrying it.

Answer 7

For some it gives the feeling of ephoria, to others it makes them very drowsy. I say if you don't need opiates for health reasons do not take them, most are highly addictive!

Answer 8

its illegal don't try it at all

Answer 9

something