Opium

Opium is a resinous narcotic formed from the latex released by lacerating (or "scoring") the immature seedpods of opium poppies. It contains up to 16% morphine, and opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the black market. Cultivation of opium poppies for food, anesthetic, and ritual purposes dates back to at least the Neolithic. The Sumerian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Minoan, Greek, Roman and Persian Empires each made widespread use of opium, which was the most potent form of pain relief then available, allowing ancient surgeons to perform prolonged surgical procedures. Chemical and physiological properties Morphine is the primary biologically active chemical constituent of opium. Opium contains two main groups of alkaloids. Those that use opium are commonly referred to as "opiates" include morphine, codeine and thebaine, and are the main narcotic constituents. Morphine is by far the most prevalent and important alkaloid in opium, consisting of 10%-16% of the total, and is responsible for most of its harmful effects such as lung edema, respiratory difficulties, coma, or cardiac or respiratory collapse, with a normal lethal dose of 120 to 250ml—the amount found in approximately two grams of opium. Morphine binds to and activates ?-opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, stomach and intestine. Regular use leads to physical tolerance and possibly dependence. Chronic opium addicts in 1906 China or modern-day Iran consume an average of eight grams daily. Both analgesia and drug addiction are functions of the mu opiod receptor, the class of opiod receptor first identified as responsive to morphine.

OPIUM
Botanical	Opium
Source plant(s)	Papaver, Somniferum
Part(s) of plant	sap
Geographic origin	Middle East
Active ingredients	Morphine, Codeine
Uses	Medicine, production of heroin
Main producers	Afghanistan (primary), Southeast Asia, Mexico, Columbia
Main consumers	Worldwide (No.1 USA)
Legal status	DEA schedule II or V
Wholesale price	$300 per kilogram
Retail price	$16,000 per kilogram

Consumption

In the industrialized world, the USA is the world’s biggest consumer of prescription opioids, with Italy one of the lowest. Most opium imported into the United States is broken down into its alkaloid constituents, and whether legal or illegal, most current drug use occurs with processed derivatives such as heroin rather than with pure and untouched opium.

Intravenous injection of opiates is most used: by comparison with injection, "dragon chasing" (heating of heroin with barbital on a piece of foil) and "ack ack" (smoking of cigarettes containing heroin powder) are only 40% and 20% efficient, respectively. One study of British heroin addicts found a 12-fold excess mortality ratio (1.8% of the group dying per year). Most heroin deaths result not from overdose per se , but combination with other depressant drugs such as alcohol or Benzodiazepine.

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The source of above information is Wikipedia. For the direct link to this source click on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium

For Wikipedia’s FARSI version of above source, click on:
http://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/ترياک
NOTE: Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free encyclopedia. With Farsi translations.