SWIM is a regular opium smoker. He loves the effects of his homegrown O. Including the dreamful state of lazyness, feeling warm a tingly allover, and just the peace and well being. SWIM has done oxycodone, hydrocodone, codiene, and morphine, but just enjoys O better; However, has never tried heroin and is wondering about the effects compared and contrasted to Opium. Thank You for any posts.
One way to compare the two might be to consider Opium a full-spectrum extract (or at least almost full) of all of the psychoactive alkaloids in a poppy pod, while heroin is generated by a chemical reaction upon morphine - basically the addition of acetyl groups which renders the compound more lipid-soluble (can pass the blood-brain-barrier easier) than the drug it's converted to in the liver, morphine. When heroin is injected, however, this first-pass metabolism in the liver is bypassed, and the heroin goes directly to the brain. The compound is then converted to morphine and another metabolite (6-mam) while in the brain, which both have comparatively very high binding-affinities for the µ-opioid receptor (the receptor identified as conferring most euphoria & pleasure). So, essentially, heroin is a prodrug for morphine. Accordingly, while both are certainly addictive, heroin will be characterized by a dramatically higher addictive profile than opium.
In sum, one might define opium as a substance that contains a number of active opiate alkaloids, while heroin is a refined and acetylized form of morphine - just one of the alkaloids present in a given poppy. Therefore, the effects of opium will be more variable between individuals as a function of the variable proportions of the different alkaloids contained within the poppy. In other words, different people will derive different pleasant effects from opium depending on what levels of alkaloids are present in the opium. Alternatively, the effects of heroin should be far more consistent among individuals - extreme euphoria, analgesia, and general pleasure - because the extraction process discards the other psychoactive alkaloids in order to isolate the more specific effects of morphine. Given the fact that the effects will be predictably variable, differences in preferences will be anticipated, depending upon which effects of the many active opiates the individual deems to be the most valuable (which will be different across individuals).
I find the level of variability regarding which opiate individuals consider to be their favorite quite interesting. One chimp might vastly prefer oxycodone to morphine while another wouldn't take oxycodone over morphine if you paid him/her. Personally, I think this is likely due to genetic polymorphisms in the expression of specific opiate-receptor subtypes - this will largely determine how a given nervous system will respond to the presence of a given compound. For example; an individual with more µ-opioid receptors than kappa will likely express a signal mostly dominated by µ-opioid activity upon ingestion of an opioid, while one with a greater quantity of kappa opioid receptors will likely experience a stronger kappa-oriented experience. Also, the 'set-and-setting' that an individual was exposed to when ingesting a particular opiate will inspire emotional associations with the particular opiate - this might translate to a favoring of a compound solely because of the memories and feelings that the drug conjures in addition to the euphoric effects of the drug. For example, someone who has had a wonderful experience with opium, but became violently ill upon snorting a bunch of heroin, they will likely prefer to ingest opium over heroin in the future.
While he treasures the substance for similar reasons as you described, my chimp finds the effects of opium to be far less 'useable' than those of other, more potent, opiates. Back in his waiting-tables days, the chimp would use heroin/oxycodone to render his workload (hours 3pm - 2am) less daunting. The one time the chimp decided to bring a little bit of opium stuffed into a cigarette, he was inconsolably irritable and couldn't imagine having to run around a steakhouse at the beck and call of sweaty, boisterous, cigar-smokin' millionaires for another minute. This was quite contrary to the marked increases in motivation and inspired amiability generated by the more potent opiates (always got the chimp better tips). So, in other words, while the chimp absolutely adores the effects of opium for just the reasons described, he feels that - like any drug - opium has an appropriate time and place, while the other opiates have a wider-range of potential productivity.
24-05-2009, 22:04
Opium vs. Heroin
Similar Threads
Hybrid Mode
