opiate definition of opiate in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

opiate drug, any of a group of drugs derived from opium opium, substance derived by collecting and drying the milky juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy , Papaver somniferum. Opium varies in color from yellow to dark brown and has a characteristic odor and a bitter taste.
..... Click the link for more information. . Used medicinally to relieve pain and induce sleep, they include codeine codeine (kō`dēn), alkaloid found in opium . It is a narcotic whose effects, though less potent, resemble those of morphine .
..... Click the link for more information. , morphine morphine, principal derivative of opium , which is the juice in the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy , Papaver somniferum. It was first isolated from opium in 1803 by the German pharmacist F. W. A.
..... Click the link for more information. , the morphine derivative heroin heroin (hĕ`rəwən), opiate drug synthesized from morphine (see narcotic ).
..... Click the link for more information. , and, formerly, laudanum laudanum (lôd`ənəm), tincture, or alcoholic solution, of opium , first compounded by Paracelsus in the 16th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . Sometimes included in the group are certain synthetic drugs that have morphinelike pharmacological action. All opiates are considered controlled substances by U.S. law and are available only by prescription. Heroin is not available legally at all in the United States. See also narcotics narcotic, any of a number of substances that have a depressant effect on the nervous system. The chief narcotic drugs are opium , its constituents morphine and codeine , and the morphine derivative heroin .

See also drug addiction and drug abuse .
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opiate drug (redirected from opiate)

opiate drug
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