Papaver somniferum, Poppy

 

Papaver somniferum, Poppy

 

General Information

Poppies are a genus of many plants that can be annual, perennial, and biennial. They originated in the fertile crescent, but have spread all across the world since they can survive in stressful environments due to their drought and pest resistant nature. Poppies do not like shade, areas of high water retention, or heavy soils. They bloom from April to June.

Identifying poppies are easy due to their distinctive pods and bright colors. They can grow from 5 inches up to 4 feet, and the flowers can be 1 1/2 inches up to 6 inches in diameters. The flowers are cup shaped and outward facing, and are usually a bright red, orange, pink or white color. Poppy leaves are a blue-green color, and are covered in tiny hairs. The pods that grow in the middle of the flower are usually and inch in diameter and can leak a white, latex liquid from inside.

Traditional uses

The earliest reference to opium growth and use is in 3400 B.C. when the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. The pods from poppy plants were used by ancient civilizations in due to its analgesic properties

The latex from inside of poppy pods have a very powerful alkaloid substance named opium, which has been processed into a consumable medication for humans. Opium was traditionally consumed by smoking it, but it is also common to inject, eat, or drank.

In 1806 French chemist Friedrich Serturner isolated morphine in 1806, named after the Greek god Morpheus. Morphine is used as a narcotic pain reliever that is still common in hospital settings for post-op surgeries. However, morphine is a very addictive substance since the alkaloid chemical opium is physiologically addicting, meaning a person needs to take repeated doses of it or their body will not function properly. 

Other medications and drugs have been synthesized from opium, including heroin in 1898, Vicodin in 1984, Oxycontin in 1995 and Percocet in 1999. Heroin became such a problem in America that the Heroin Act was passed in 1924, making the importation, manufacture and possession of heroin illegal in the U.S. However, legal prescriptions of other opioids are easy to get and are just as addictive as a street drug like heroin.

Depending on the type of medication, administration can vary. Morphine and heroin are usually injected intravenously, and pills like Oxycontin and Vicodin are ingested as tablets or capsules.

 

Current research

There are thousands of studies being conducted on a variety of topics about opioids. Notable examples include a study about how opioids can actually cause a person to increase the amount of pain that they feel, which is counterproductive to their purpose.

Another research study on opium addiction in Iran showed that only 1.0% of addicts in Iran are receiving treatment for opium addiction,  despite the fact it is estimated that rates as a high as 6.7% of the population.

Other studies that include opioids are alternative treatments to opioid addiction, since addiction to heroin and prescription pills can be rehabilitating. Currently the best ways to treat opioid addiction is to use controlled, less damaging opioid-based drugs like Methadone and Naltrexone, which can help prevent addicts from relapsing. 

 

 

Sources:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kind-environment-poppy-plant-like-70617.html

http://www.gardenguides.com/75792-identify-papaver-somniferum.html

https://www.drugs.com/morphine.html

Brownstein, Michael J. “A Brief History of Opiates, Opioid Peptides, and Opioid Receptors.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 90, no. 12, 1993, pp. 5391–5393., www.jstor.org/stable/2362402. (2362402 pdf)

Strang, John J. British Journal of Psychiatry: Heroin on Trial: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials of Diamorphine-Prescribing as Treatment for Refractory Heroin Addiction†. 207 Vol. Royal Medico-psychological Association, 07/2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2017.

Alemi, A. A., and M. M. Naraghi. “The iceberg of opium addiction an epidemiological survey of opium addiction in a rural community.” Drug and alcohol dependence 3.2 (1978): 107-112.

Kramer, John C. “Opium rampant: medical use, misuse and abuse in Britain and the West in the 17th and 18th centuries.” Addiction 74.4 (1979): 377-389.