Opium
Classification: Opiate analgesic
Commercial Names: Laudanum, Paregoric
Common Names/Nicknames: Laudanum, O, Chinese molasses, black stuff, gum, hop, skee, tar, gong, zero, dope
Active Compound: Morphine, codeine
Found in: Opium gum, opium powder, tincture of opium (laudanum), camphorated tincture of opium (paregoric)
Mode of Consumption: Inhalation (smoking), ingestion, injection
DEA Scheduling/Legal Status (in US): Schedule II, legal with prescription
Effects:
Euphoria, drowsiness, anesthesia, decreased breathing, nausea, constipation, incontinence, pupil constriction, itchy skin
Risks:
Acute: Hypoxia, seizures, coma, fatal overdose
Chronic: Addiction, tolerance, withdrawal, weight loss
Inhalation: increased risk of pulmonary cancer, cardiovascular disease; Injection: blood-bourne pathogens, endocarditis, abscess
Males: impotence; Females: menstrual irregularities
Dangerous Drug Combinations:
Potentially fatal combination with alcohol, barbiturates, methaqualone, benzodiazepines, and other drugs that suppress breathing.
Back to Opiates
And remember, if somebody needs help, play it safe and call for medical assistance.
“Students may bring an intoxicated or drug-impaired friend to University Health Services or to a hospital, or seek assistance from College residential life staff or HUPD, and by doing this, neither they nor the friend will face disciplinary action from the College for having used or provided alcohol or drugs.”
The Amnesty Policy
Harvard College Student Handbook
Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy (Third Edition), by Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, andWilkie Wilson. Published 2008 by W. W. Norton & Company.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.nida.nih.gov/DrugPages/
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), part of the U.S.Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/dea/
Erowid Organization http://www.erowid.org/