How is opium taken?
Inhaled (smoked) or injected into the system.
A Brief History of Opium
Opium is extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant, Papaver Somniferum. The poppy plant itself was known to be cultivated since the days of the ancient civilizations of Persia, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. By the 1800s in Europe, raw opium was freely distributed in neighborhood pharmacies and grocery stores. At around the same time, the British were caught smuggling large amounts of opium from India into mainland China, despite the strict (and enforced) Chinese drug laws. After a few wars left the Chinese defeated, they were forced to sign the infamous Treaty of Nanjing.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
OPIUM 101
Does opium have a medical use? If so what is it?
Opium was commonly used as an analgesic (painkiller) until the use and development of morphine (which is another opiate) became more widespread.
Short Term Effects
· Euphoria
· Calm drowsiness
· Slower breathing, blood pressure, and pulse – potentially to the point of unconsciousness or even death
· Nausea and vomiting
· Confusion
· Constipation
· Decreases appetite and thirst
Long Term Effects
· Drug tolerance (addiction)
· Higher risk of contracting HIV (using dirty needles, etc)
· Physical dependency
· Collapsed veins
· Infections in heart and valves
· Liver disease
Withdrawal Effects
· Restlessness
· Body pains
· Insomnia
· Diarrhea
· Vomiting
· Cold flashes
· Death (for long term)
Withdrawal symptoms for most users usually disappear within a week.
Some Stats.
· 100,000 OPIOID-RELATED DEATHS WORLDWIDE.
· “In 2006, Afghanistan accounted for 92 percent of global illicit opium production, up from 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. The higher yields in Afghanistan have brought global opium production to a new record high of 6,610 metric tons in 2006, a 43 percent increase over 2005.” (TAKEN FROM http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19431056)
· Between 2005 and 2006, the area of poppy cultivation fields in South East Asia have decreased from 35,000 ha to 24,000 ha. (http://www.unodc.org/pdf/research/wdr07/WDR_2007_1.2_opium_heroin.pdf)
· Despite the trend of declining poppy fields, global opium production increased by 46% since 1998 due to an increase in yields.
What is an addiction? What does this mean? How do people become addicted?
ad⋅dic⋅tion
[uh-dik-shuh n] Show IPA
–noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
Or in other words, an addiction could be short term, in that you withdraw from it after a small period of time. Or, it could also be long-term or lifelong. It is a phase in which most people enter subconsciously when you must repeat a certain habit (such as shopping) to ease a mental or physical desire. Most people become addicted by certain substances in the product, such as nicotine in cigarettes. Other factors include genes, childhood traumas, early usages of drugs, and social environments where the use of addictive substances are common.
Why do people abuse drugs?
· Curiosity
· Peer pressure
· Insecurities (i.e a guy would drink beer to make himself more self-confident to talk to a girl)
· An escape from troubles at home/school/work.
· Ease of access
· Relax, calm yourself down
· Some medications are physically or mentally addictive.
· http://www.hear4u.org.uk/drugs2.php
Drug Abuser-
The afternoon is late and I am on my daily walk through the park when I see a couple passing. Even though they have passed me, their voices are loud and piercing. “Oh, what a shame. He was such a good guy.” I laugh hysterically, but nobody joins in. “Why don’t they join in?” I ask to the stars. The feeling is so good, so euphoric. Like I can swim through the clouds with no strings attached whatsoever. Time doesn’t exist, too. Out of the corner of my eye I see a man dressed in blue from head to bottom. How strange. With his hand outstretched, he slowly walks towards me in a sideway manner, mouthing words I cannot hear. How nice it is to be detached from such an awful reality, where the power of gravity is stronger than your own. How nice…
I open my eyes in a bright fluorescent room to see a man sitting opposite me in a table. He sees me wake up and gives me some food, but my stomach lurches and my appetite is gone. No, I try to say. I need my injections. Again with the stares! I need my needles now! But nobody says a word and the man opposite me is gone. They say when it wears off, you feel bad. Specifically, I think it’s dysphoria. I used to know all these fancy words. They say I had a good life before I tolerated my addiction. Before I elevated my doses. Before I got fired for being ‘an unacceptable member of the professional working community’. Before I found what reality really should be.
Is the character physically or psychologically addicted to the drug and explain why?
I tried to describe my character as psychologically addicted to the drug he was abusing. Anorexia, one of the many withdrawal symptoms of drugs, was mentioned at a low stage, with the man refusing to eat and claiming that his appetite was gone. Also, when he starts craving for his daily dosages in the room, the irritability of not being able to get it really sinks into his head. Realistically, his appetite, cravings, and irritations are feelings which are only controlled with his mind, making him only psychologically addicted.
Drug Abuser-
· Broken family
· Low self-worth
· Doesn’t respect others (or himself)
· Not respected by others
· Low financial status
· Mentally unstable
· No positive influence from others
Drug Misuser-
· Risk taker
· Only thinks about short-term effects
· “more pills = bigger effect”
· False sense of strength
Recreational Drug User-
· Goes under spiritual use as well
· Bored with reality at times
· Most often used in clubs
· Adolescents
School Policy? Consequences?
The usage of any illegal drugs is strictly prohibited. Each student takes a drug test (by cutting hair, so results are unchangeable). The punishment of a first offence is 4 or more days of suspension and 6 counseling sessions. The second offence would be a recommended expulsion.
Questions:
1.) What was opium first medically used as?
2.) What was a result of the Treaty of Nanjing
3.) What is a typical short term-effect of opium use?
4.) What is a typical long-term effect of opium use?
5.) What happens when a long-term abuser stops taking opium?
6.) Where is opium mostly grown?
7.) What kind of flower does opium originate from?
8.) Over the past hundred years, the number of people using opium has __________
9.) Why does using opium make you more susceptible in contracting HIV?
10.) Why has the price of opium increased over the past 50 years?
Opium, desire or will?
Inspiration bound from an elegant seed
Subversion, through smoke I foresee
Erotic motions of lesser gods in ectasy
Opium, bring me forth another dream
Spawn worlds of flesh and red,
Little jewels of atrocity
Opium, I sleep in debauchery
And burn with you
When you burn in me
Opium, we fantasize
As we fuse with your root
You are a strange flower,
We are your strangest fruit
Opium, it burns in me and you
Opium, it burns for me and for you
Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoooX3OVGoI
16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaSZ80IK9Hg
Whenever I feel stressed in any way, I turn to endorphin-releasing activities (which are supposed to give you a natural ‘high’). For me, this means playing sports such as basketball, soccer, etc… because it helps me to keep being busy and get all the stress out by making myself tired. Listening to music is another activity because it calms me down and changes my mood to a happier vibe by listening to exciting beats. Also, I find that sleeping is a good way to release the stress in my system because it makes me peaceful and keeps me distracted if I dream.
If my father got addicted to drugs, I am certain that my family will be gravely affected socially, mentally, and economically. For one, he would probably be too busy looking for and doing the drug, which in turn would not only keep him from his day-to-day work schedule but also distract him from business matters in his office. An extreme scenario would be getting fired. Mentally, his mind would always be fixated on his cravings for the drug, leaving him detached from reality. Socially, he would start having big mood changes which will make the relationship between him and us to be further away. Money would also be tight in this situation and as his child, I would probably ask for outside adult help in this situation.
If someone asks me to help him or her to kick their habit of addiction to the drug, first, I will ask him or her to visit the doctor for professional and medical advice (and medications if necessary) to treat his addiction and the effects of what it has done to his body. In some cases, a rehabilitation clinic would be the best solution. I will also ask him to find an active activity and plan to do it every day to keep him busy and distracted from his cravings. This could include an endorphin-releasing activity such as playing sports, preferably a team sport like basketball or soccer. Third, I would suggest him to set a time of about 1 to 2 hours at night to read a book and listen to music to calm down and relax.
Links to help combat drug addiction:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2080458_combat-psychological-drug-addiction.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Drug-Addiction&id=1423582
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Get-Rid-of-Drug-Addiction-with-Effective-Drug-Rehab-Program/906987
If I see a drug abuser who thinks there is no problem taking and abusing a drug, I will try to convince them otherwise. However, I know first-hand that if I just showed advertisements and a listed a number of effects, it would not work. By talking to them sincerely of how worried you are not only for her reputation and health and that you are there to help in any way necessary, it shows her that you care deeply. Normally, a person using drugs are insecure about their relationships in reality, with most cases being a lack of love and care. However, the abuser herself would need to realize the harm it results in mentally, socially, and economically and be self-determined and disciplined to quit the addiction for you to actually help her.
21. “Opium and Kung Fu Master”, and another one is “Opium War”
22. Now i understand how hard it is for drug users to stop taking their drugs, because it is same thing as someone else ask me to stop playing dota forever. I know i have addiction to computer games, and makes me want to play it everyday, and i believe that this applies the same way to the drug addicts. Typically, drug users would be shunned upon the community mostly because of the narrow-minded conservatives who simply believe that they are taking ‘the devil’s pills’. Before this course, this was more or less the same that I had believed in because the message was so widespread and public. However, although I wouldn’t necessarily call it respect, I have a better understanding and sympathy towards these users because as easy it is to make that type of decision, the harder it is to let go.
Support Groups:
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/help/default.aspx?path=home - No cost
http://www.recoveryconnection.org/support_groups/drug-alcohol-addiction-support-groups.php - No cost
1.) What was opium first medically used as?
2.) What was a result of the Treaty of Nanjing
3.) What is a typical short term-effect of opium use?
4.) What is a typical long-term effect of opium use?
5.) What happens when a long-term abuser stops taking opium?
6.) Where is opium mostly grown?
7.) What kind of flower does opium originate from?
8.) Over the past hundred years, the number of people using opium has __________
9.) Why does using opium make you more susceptible in contracting HIV?
10.) Why has the price of opium increased over the past 50 years?
Opium, desire or will?
Inspiration bound from an elegant seed
Subversion, through smoke I foresee
Erotic motions of lesser gods in ectasy
Opium, bring me forth another dream
Spawn worlds of flesh and red,
Little jewels of atrocity
Opium, I sleep in debauchery
And burn with you
When you burn in me
Opium, we fantasize
As we fuse with your root
You are a strange flower,
We are your strangest fruit
Opium, it burns in me and you
Opium, it burns for me and for you
Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoooX3OVGoI
16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaSZ80IK9Hg
Whenever I feel stressed in any way, I turn to endorphin-releasing activities (which are supposed to give you a natural ‘high’). For me, this means playing sports such as basketball, soccer, etc… because it helps me to keep being busy and get all the stress out by making myself tired. Listening to music is another activity because it calms me down and changes my mood to a happier vibe by listening to exciting beats. Also, I find that sleeping is a good way to release the stress in my system because it makes me peaceful and keeps me distracted if I dream.
If my father got addicted to drugs, I am certain that my family will be gravely affected socially, mentally, and economically. For one, he would probably be too busy looking for and doing the drug, which in turn would not only keep him from his day-to-day work schedule but also distract him from business matters in his office. An extreme scenario would be getting fired. Mentally, his mind would always be fixated on his cravings for the drug, leaving him detached from reality. Socially, he would start having big mood changes which will make the relationship between him and us to be further away. Money would also be tight in this situation and as his child, I would probably ask for outside adult help in this situation.
If someone asks me to help him or her to kick their habit of addiction to the drug, first, I will ask him or her to visit the doctor for professional and medical advice (and medications if necessary) to treat his addiction and the effects of what it has done to his body. In some cases, a rehabilitation clinic would be the best solution. I will also ask him to find an active activity and plan to do it every day to keep him busy and distracted from his cravings. This could include an endorphin-releasing activity such as playing sports, preferably a team sport like basketball or soccer. Third, I would suggest him to set a time of about 1 to 2 hours at night to read a book and listen to music to calm down and relax.
Links to help combat drug addiction:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2080458_combat-psychological-drug-addiction.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Drug-Addiction&id=1423582
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Get-Rid-of-Drug-Addiction-with-Effective-Drug-Rehab-Program/906987
If I see a drug abuser who thinks there is no problem taking and abusing a drug, I will try to convince them otherwise. However, I know first-hand that if I just showed advertisements and a listed a number of effects, it would not work. By talking to them sincerely of how worried you are not only for her reputation and health and that you are there to help in any way necessary, it shows her that you care deeply. Normally, a person using drugs are insecure about their relationships in reality, with most cases being a lack of love and care. However, the abuser herself would need to realize the harm it results in mentally, socially, and economically and be self-determined and disciplined to quit the addiction for you to actually help her.
21. “Opium and Kung Fu Master”, and another one is “Opium War”
22. Now i understand how hard it is for drug users to stop taking their drugs, because it is same thing as someone else ask me to stop playing dota forever. I know i have addiction to computer games, and makes me want to play it everyday, and i believe that this applies the same way to the drug addicts. Typically, drug users would be shunned upon the community mostly because of the narrow-minded conservatives who simply believe that they are taking ‘the devil’s pills’. Before this course, this was more or less the same that I had believed in because the message was so widespread and public. However, although I wouldn’t necessarily call it respect, I have a better understanding and sympathy towards these users because as easy it is to make that type of decision, the harder it is to let go.
Support Groups:
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/help/default.aspx?path=home - No cost
http://www.recoveryconnection.org/support_groups/drug-alcohol-addiction-support-groups.php - No cost
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Good info. all your answeres are in well constructed paragraphs. good job.
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