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All About: Opioids

- Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects.

- Opioids include opiates, an older term that refers to the drugs derived from opium, including morphine.

Opioids = Narcotic Analgesics

- The opioid drugs are narcotic analgesics:

sleep-inducing (narcotic)

pain-relieving (analgesic)

- They are the best painkillers known to humankind, and they also produce a sense of euphoria.

- They create a sense of relaxation, but at high doses, they can lead to coma and death.

Opium

- Opium has been used recreationally and in medicine for thousands of years (since 5000 BC in China).

- Opium is an extract of the poppy plant (Papaver somniferum).

- Opium is prepared by drying and powdering the milky juice taken from the seed capsules of the opium poppy just before ripening.

- Opium contains morphine, codeine, thebaine, narcotine, and other ingredients.

- Recreational users often smoke opium for its rapid absorption from the lungs.

Opium-Based Products

- Laudanum, an opium-based medicinal drink, was introduced to England in 1680.

- Drinking laudanum-laced wine was the accepted form of opium use in Victorian England & USA.

- Up to the 20th century, laudanum was common in popular remedies.

Morphine

- extracted from the poppy plant in 1805 by a German chemist named Friedrich Serturner

- It was the first time an active ingredient of any medicinal plant was isolated.

- Extraction of morphine allowed doctors to prescribe it in known dosages.

- very powerful analgesic and euphoric drug

- named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams

Codeine

- isolated in 1832

- less analgesic effect and fewer side effects than morphine

- A potent cough suppressant, it is often included in cough medicine and in pain relievers.

Heroin

- was developed by the Bayer Company in 1874 to be more effective in relieving pain and cough without the danger of addiction.

- Heroin was made by adding two acetyl groups to morphine, making it more lipid soluble. The very rapid action of heroin is responsible for the dramatic euphoric effects achieved with that drug.

- as a street drug, preferred over morphine

- pharmacological effects of morphine and heroin are essentially identical because heroin is converted to morphine in the brain.

Oxycodone

- semisynthetic opioid derived from thebaine

- In 1916, German scientists at the University of Frankfurt developed oxycodone as an analgesic less addictive than morphine.

- Oxycodone was approved by the FDA in 1950 as Percodan (mix of oxycodone & aspirin).

- Since the early 1960s, abuse of prescription opioids containing oxycodone has been a major concern in the USA.

- In 1996, Purdue Pharma introduced (and aggressively marketed) OxyContin, a controlled release formulation of oxycodone.

- Purdue advertised Oxycontin as non-addictive because the drug was designed to be released within the body over a 12-hour period.

- Recreational drug users quickly learned to get high by crushing or dissolving these time-release pills.

- Spread of Oxycontin abuse has resulted in increased deaths from overdose.

Molecular structure of morphine, codeine, heroin, and naloxone

Selected natural and synthetic opioid drugs

Heroin = Schedule I

Morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, opium, methadone = Schedule II

Opioids: Routes of Administration

- Recreational users often smoke opium for its rapid absorption from the lungs.

- Morphine:

in hospitals: intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous injection; or given orally

in the streets: inhalation

- Oxycodone, vicodine: taken orally as pills

- “Snorting” heroin leads to rapid absorption through the nasal mucosa. Subcutaneous administration (”skin popping”) may precede the more dangerous “mainlining” (IV injection).

Opioids: Distribution

- Morphine and oxycodone have similar fat-solubility and only a small fraction of the drugs can cross the blood-brain barrier.

- Heroin and fentanyl are much more fat soluble and can reach the brain faster. They are much more potent when injected.

- Opioids easily cross the placenta. Newborns can suffer withdrawal symptoms but can be stabilized with low doses of opioids.

Opioids: Metabolism

- Morphine reaches peak levels with oral administration within 60 minutes; with IV injection, within 15 minutes. The drug has a half-life of about 90 minutes to 3 hours.

- Fentanyl: with IV injection, peaks in 1 minute; half-life of 1.5 hours.

- Oxycodone: oral administration peaks in 30-60 minutes (controlled release 3 hours); half-life is 3-5 hours.

- Oral administration: first-pass metabolism in the liver reduces the bio-availability of opioids.

- Most opioids are metabolized via CYP-mediated oxidation (codeine, oxycodone, methadone) and have substantial drug interaction potential (with the exception of morphine).

Opioids: Excretion

- After metabolism in the liver, most opioid metabolites are excreted in the urine within 24 hours.

- Typically, morphine can be detected in urine for 1-2 days. In cases of heavy or chronic use, morphine might be detectable for slightly longer, but it usually can’t be detected after about 4-5 days.

Pharmacodynamics: Effects of Opioids

- Effects of opioids on the CNS are related to dose and rate of absorption.

- Low to moderate doses result in:

pain relief (analgesia)

relaxation

dreamy sleep

- Some researchers suggest morphine relieves anxiety, aggression, and feelings of inadequacy. This may lead to more drug use.

- At higher doses, there is an abnormal state of elation or euphoria, described as a “kick,” “bang,” or “rush.” This acts as a powerful reinforcer that encourages repeated drug use.

Pharmacodynamics: Side Effects

(A) Behavioral

- drowsiness, inability to concentrate

- (rarely) adverse effects, such as dysphoria, restlessness and anxiety

- At highest doses, the sedative effects may lead to unconsciousness.

(B) Physiological

- constricted pupils

- nausea and vomiting. Opioids affect the area postrema in the brain stem that elicits vomiting.

- constipation: Opium and morphine have been used to treat diarrhea and can be life-saving to stop fluid loss in severe bacterial and parasitic diseases.

Opioid Overdose

- at highest doses = respiratory depression. In recreational users, tolerance to euphoria develops faster than to respiratory depression.

- Opioids act on the brain stem’s respiratory center; respiratory failure is the ultimate cause of death in overdose.

- sedative effects may lead to loss of consciousness.

- body temperature and blood pressure fall

- pupils become very constricted

- antidote = naloxone (Narcan)

Opioid agonists = morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, etc.

Opioid antagonists = naloxone, naltrexone

Neurochemical Effects: Receptors and Endogenous Opioids

- Our bodies synthesize our own analgesic substances: endogenous opioids (endorphin, enkephalin, dynorphin)

- Endogenous = produced in our body

- discovered in 1974

- produced in response to pain, but also to exercise, laughter, etc.

- Both opioid drugs and endogenous opioids produce their effects via endogenous opioid receptors in the CNS.

Analgesia - medial thalamus, periaqueductal gray (PAG), median raphe, spinal cord

Positive reinforcement - nucleus accumbens, VTA

Cardiovascular and respiratory depression, cough control, nausea and vomiting - brainstem

Opioids: Mechanism of Action

- Opioid receptors are metabotropic.

- Opioids inhibit nerve activity in multiple ways:

Postsynaptic inhibition - receptors activate a G protein that opens K+ channels to hyperpolarize the post-synaptic cells, reducing firing rate.

Axoaxonic inhibition - receptors activate G proteins that close Ca2+ channels, reducing the release of neurotransmitter.

Pain Pathways to the Brain

- How do we feel pain?

- Painful stimuli can be detected by special receptors (nociceptors) located all over our body (including in our skin).

- Sensory information is sent through the spinal cord to the brain, where painful sensation is formed.

- Nociceptors --> Spinal cord --> Thalamus --> Cortex

Pain Management

- Multiple regions in the brain can suppress activity of the pain sensory neurons in the spinal cord.

- PAG (periaqueductal gray) is the key structure.

(I) Opioids stimulate neurons in the PAG that are responsible for inhibition of the pain sensory neurons in the spinal cord.

(II) Opioids directly inhibit the pain sensory neurons in the spinal cord.

(III) Opioids also affect higher sensory areas, hypothalamus and limbic structures in the brain.

Opioids: Reward Pathway

Reward pathway: mesolimbic: VTA ---> Nacc

- Opioids suppress GABA synapses on VTA dopaminergic neurons

--> Disinhibition --> Increase in firing --> Increase in dopamine release in Nacc

- Experiment: opioids micro-injected into the VTA increase dopaminergic cell firing

- Continued activation of the dopaminergic reward pathway leads to the feelings of euphoria and the ‘high’ associated with opiate use

Chronic Use of Opioids

- Chronic use of opioids leads to neuro-adaptive changes, which are responsible for tolerance, sensitization, and dependence.

- Opioids have significant reinforcing properties.

- Opioids effectively produce tolerance.

- Cross-tolerance among the opioids also exists.

- Example: after chronic heroin use, codeine will elicit a milder-than-normal response even if the individual has never used codeine before.

- Physical dependence: neuro-adaptive state in response to long-term occupation of opioid receptors.

- Physical dependence does not necessarily lead to abuse or addiction.

- When the drug is no longer present, cell function returns to normal and overshoots basal levels. Effects are seen in withdrawal symptoms (abstinence syndrome).

- Opioids in general depress CNS function; opioid withdrawal is rebound hyperactivity.

- Abstinence signs reflect a loss of inhibitory opioid action at all receptors in the CNS and elsewhere, as blood levels of the drug gradually decline.

- Severity and time course of withdrawal symptoms can vary with many factors, including the particular drug used:

Heroin: peak within few minutes; withdrawal may begin within 6-24 hours of discontinuation of the drug

Methadone: gradual increase over several days and a gradual decrease over several weeks

- Drug’s time frame can fluctuate with the degree of tolerance as well as the amount of the last consumed dose.

- Withdrawal symptoms can also be classically conditioned.

- The high rate of relapse may be due to the conditioned abstinence syndrome in the old environment.

- Some addicts describe withdrawal symptoms when they visit areas of prior drug use, even years later.

Opioid Addiction

DSM-5: Opioid Use Disorder

- A problematic pattern of opioid use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by at least two of the 11 criteria, occurring within a 12-month period.

Treatment

- A multidimensional approach includes detoxification, pharmacological support, and group or individual counseling.

- Counseling helps addicts identify the environmental cues that trigger relapse and design a behavioral response to those cues.

- Narcotics Anonymous is another option, based on the program for alcohol abuse.

Detoxification is the first step, which can be assisted by opioids such as methadone and buprenorphine (opioid receptor agonists):

substitutes for heroin

reduce symptoms to a comfortable level

Methadone maintenance program:

The most common and effective treatment for heroin addiction. Relieves craving for heroin.

Methadone is long-acting, producing a constant level of drug in the blood.

Methadone has cross-dependence with heroin, which prevents severe withdrawal symptoms.

Methadone can produce a “high” if injected, which could lead to illegal diversion of the drug.

Thus, programs require daily supervised oral administration. Little or no euphoria occurs with oral administration.

Oral administration reduces use of the needle by the addict and the ritual surrounding its use.

- Some treatment programs use narcotic antagonists (= opioid receptor antagonists).

Naltrexone (Trexan) is most commonly used because it has a longer duration of action than naloxone, is effective when taken orally, and has few side effects.

This method is effective for highly motivated individuals. Craving for the drug is not eliminated, so most less-motivated addicts stop antagonist treatment and return to drug use.

Experimental Treatment:

A vaccine is being developed to produce antibodies that would bind to the drug molecules in the blood circulation and prevent entry into the brain.

A vaccine that recognizes heroin and its active metabolites has been tested in rats.

#drugs and behavior #neuroscience #study blog #my notes

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Sleep is crucial to our overall health Insufficient sleep could affect our physical as well as mental health. Sleeping disorders can be result of a myriad of causes including stress, anxiety, and health conditions. Sleeping pills are a great solution to ease this issue. In the past, buying sleeping pills could be an issue, but thanks to the rise of online pharmacies, it has become much easier. We will examine the advantages buying sleeping pills on the internet in this article.

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The convenience of ordering sleeping pills online is just one of the major advantages. Ordering medication online will allow you to skip having to walk into a drugstore. There is no need to fret about being in a line and dealing with the traffic, which makes the whole process easier and less stress-free.

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Wide Selection

Pharmacies online offer a greater selection of medicines than traditional pharmacies. They offer a variety of sleeping pills including brand name and generic versions, which might not be readily available at the pharmacy you are using. You can also review reviews and compare prices to determine the most effective medicine for you.

There is no prescription required

The majority of online pharmacies do not require prescriptions to buy Codeine Phosphate 30 mg. This can be helpful to those who do not have the enough time to see a physician or live in an area that is remote and does not have the accessibility to medical facilities. But, it's important to note that you should always seek advice from a physician prior to taking any medication.

You can also find out more information about privacy.

Buying medication online can be more discrete and private alternative to purchasing it from a physical pharmacy. It is possible to purchase medication online without anyone else being aware and this is especially essential for people who are uncomfortable about their sleeping issues.

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It is also possible to read user reviews by clicking buy Zopiclone 7.5 mg. This can be helpful in choosing the right medication and the best online pharmacy to use. You can leave your review so that others can make an informed choice.

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Service for customers is generally exceptional at pharmacies that are online They have representatives willing to help you with any questions. They can offer advice to the pharmacists on how to take your medicine as well as how you can manage the sleep disorders you suffer from.

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The same standards of safety and quality must be met by online pharmacies just as they are in a physical pharmacy. Online pharmacies have to meet the same safety and quality standards that physical pharmacies do.

Summary

Online sleeping pill purchases offer many advantages, such as convenience, low cost large selection of options, no prescription required, security, customer reviews, ratings, great service and high-quality. This is why consumers prefer buying sleeping medicines online from pharmacies due to all of the advantages.

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Alcohol & Drug Use Prescription Pain Relievers

"That's pretty amazing that misuse now is determined by whether misused while in the NFL," Cottler said. In the case of the kappa opioid receptor, his computer analyses enabled the scientists to modify the chemistry of the ligands so that eventually they developed ligands that affected only the kappa opioid receptor. Typically, scientists determine the structure of receptors by forcing the proteins into a crystal lattice that they then expose to X-rays. As a patient, you must trust that your physician will make the right choice for you. Accurately describe My Back Pain Coach of alcohol, tobacco or illicit drugs. Your doctor needs to know if you are recovering from an addiction to — or currently misuse — alcohol or drugs, including prescription medications, in order to plan and monitor your pain management. From the period from 1998 to 2088, overdose deaths, sales, and treatment admissions for substance use disorder related to prescription pain relievers increased in parallel with one another. Many patients of mine, and the scientific literature, would agree that paracetamol is not very effective for arthritis pain for most people. You’re right about the hazards of opioids and NSAIDs as well. As you point out, there are many side effects and risks with narcotics as well. OA management should best be holistic, but getting access to all of the non-medication treatments that would help is not easy. Opioids are also called opiates, and there are many different types of opioid painkillers. Some of the weaker options include codeine and dihydrocodeine. Some people become dependent on prescription pain pills and have trouble stopping them even if the drugs are hurting them physically or mentally. They are often used to help with the detoxification process, which often takes place as the first part of addiction treatment. A tolerance can also cause a person to take doses larger than their recommended amount in order to achieve the effects they want. Increasing the medication dosage can lead to a physical dependence whereby the user needs to continue taking the drug to feel normal. Eventually a physical dependence can lead to cravings, which are characterized by growing urges to continue using the drug despite negative consequences that may occur. Fentanyl is designed for cancer patients who have flares of pain that are not controlled by other medications. It is available as a nasal spray, tablets, lozenges, and as a patch.

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Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant that may help increase attention and decrease impulsiveness and hyperactivity in people with ADHD, aged 3 years and older. Adderall is also approved to treat narcolepsy, in which people tend to fall asleep whenever they are in relaxing surroundings. It is only for people aged 12 and older. Adderall works by increasing the availability of brain neurotransmitters norepinephrine and Dopamine in your central nervous system connections. It is available by prescription only and is a controlled substance. What is an Adderall Addiction? Adderall addiction is when a person continues to use the drug even when it harms them financially, occupationally, or in their interpersonal relationships. Symptoms of substance use disorder impact all aspects of a person’s life. Treatment involves helping a person return to a healthy level of functioning while contributing to society.

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[noddingoutandhard]

Im just another user currently needing to just vent.

as a teen i took mdma, cocaine, mephedrone, pills, uppers downers whatever i could

but never opiods

smacks the devil, u dont wanna go there

but here i am, 27 and hooked on the nod

5 years clean from everything apart from weed

even alcohol

my use is light. its only lean. Codeine and promethazine, light as far as opiods go

but i had a rule

only once a month

only once a fortnight

only once a week

fine but no more than twice

always put a day inbetween use

technicaly its been 24 hours since i last poured my first cup

fuck it 3 days max

i wont wd of 4 days surely

i have none left anyway

”who can get me codiene”

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[nicklloydnow]

“The conflict was distinct in another way, too—over time, it came to be known as the first “pharmacological war,” so called because the level of consumption of psychoactive substances by military personnel was unprecedented in American history. The British philosopher Nick Land aptly described the Vietnam War as “a decisive point of intersection between pharmacology and the technology of violence.”

Since World War II, little research had determined whether amphetamine had a positive impact on soldiers’ performance, yet the American military readily supplied its troops in Vietnam with speed. “Pep pills” were usually distributed to men leaving for long-range reconnaissance missions and ambushes. The standard army instruction (20 milligrams of dextroamphetamine for 48 hours of combat readiness) was rarely followed; doses of amphetamine were issued, as one veteran put it, “like candies,” with no attention given to recommended dose or frequency of administration. In 1971, a report by the House Select Committee on Crime revealed that from 1966 to 1969, the armed forces had used 225 million tablets of stimulants, mostly Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine), an amphetamine derivative that is nearly twice as strong as the Benzedrine used in the Second World War. The annual consumption of Dexedrine per person was 21.1 pills in the navy, 17.5 in the air force, and 13.8 in the army.

“We had the best amphetamines available and they were supplied by the U.S. government,” said Elton Manzione, a member of a long-range reconnaissance platoon (or Lurp). He recalled a description he’d heard from a navy commando, who said that the drugs “gave you a sense of bravado as well as keeping you awake. Every sight and sound was heightened. You were wired into it all and at times you felt really invulnerable.” Soldiers in units infiltrating Laos for a four-day mission received a medical kit that contained, among other items, 12 tablets of Darvon (a mild painkiller), 24 tablets of codeine (an opioid analgesic), and six pills of Dexedrine. Before leaving for a long and demanding expedition, members of special units were also administered steroid injections.

Research has found that 3.2 percent of soldiers arriving in Vietnam were heavy amphetamine users; however, after one year of deployment, this rate rose to 5.2 percent. In short, the administration of stimulants by the military contributed to the spread of drug habits that sometimes had tragic consequences—because amphetamine, as many veterans claimed, increased aggression as well as alertness. Some remembered that when the effect of speed faded away, they were so irritated that they felt like shooting “children in the streets.”

Psychoactive substances were issued not only to boost the fighters, but also to reduce the harmful impact of combat on their psyche. In order to prevent soldiers’ mental breakdowns from combat stress, the Department of Defense employed sedatives and neuroleptics. By and large, writes David Grossman in his book On Killing, Vietnam was “the first war in which the forces of modern pharmacology were directed to empower the battlefield soldier.” For the first time in military history, the prescription of potent antipsychotic drugs like chlorpromazine, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name Thorazine, became routine. The massive use of psychopharmacology and the deployment of a large number of military psychiatrists help explain the unprecedentedly low rate of combat trauma recorded in wartime: Whereas the rate of mental breakdowns among American soldiers was 10 percent during the Second World War (101 cases per 1,000 troops) and 4 percent in the Korean War (37 cases per 1,000 troops), in Vietnam it fell to just 1 percent (12 cases per 1,000 troops).”

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LADY MORPHINE

Deep into the Earth I was (re)born, skin covered in mud, rising in a golden field poppy crowned Goddess ecstatic and sensual, queen of intoxication nurturing mother sacrificial virgin bleeding white nectar bestower of peace bringer of death.

PHARMACOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

The opium poppy was domesticated in Europe by 6000 BC and was widely used in the Mediterranean region for its medicinal properties. It was used in tinctures, concoctions, steam baths and pills to relief pain, fever, cough and treat wounds, insomnia and depression. A recipe of opium, mandrake and wine was used as an anaesthetic before amputations and other surgical procedures. According to Herakleides of Pontus (340 BC), euthanasia was widely extended in the Greek Islands, where people, especially women, lived until very old age. As they grew weak and before they became disabled, it was common for them to end their lives by taking a preparation of opium poppy. Poppies were known for bringing an easy and painless death.

Ancient Greek pharmacology distinguished two different preparations from poppies. “Opium” being extracted from the seed capsule of the poppy and taken internally, and “mekonion” being the result of boiling the poppy's leaves and fruits and most often used externally. Poppies and their derivates have accompanied us for a very long time.

Swiss-German alchemist Paracelsus reformulated a traditional opium tincture known as “laudanum” in the 16th-century. The use of laudanum was widely extended in Europe and it was used as a cure all in people of all ages, including babies. In 1804 Friedrich Serturner  isolated morphine which became a popular and safer alternative to traditional opioids. In 1834 Pierre Robiquet isolated codeine while experimenting with different morphine extraction procedures. While laudanum still exists today, its prescription is rare and morphine and codeine have been the preferred opioids in the last two centuries. Diamorphine (heroin) is used to treat severe pain such as cancer and post-surgical pains. Heroin is commonly used as a recreational drug too and it's highly addictive. Heroin users become tolerant to the opioid very quickly and they need higher and higher doses to achieve the same euphoric effects. Under the name of diamorphine it's also prescribed as a maintenance treatment for long-term heroin addicts. Heroin is behind most deaths by drug overdose. Different opioids, but most often morphine, are used in palliative care to comfort patients throughout the dying process.

Outlined above we have a broad picture of how opium poppies have accompanied us through our history. This first draft focuses on opium uses and lore in Europe avoiding matters concerning heroin abuse, and its illegal production and distribution since I have no capacity to talk in depth about these matters. This is not an exhaustive paper and I expect to expand or change its contents in the future.

ORIGINS OF LADY MORPHINE

Opium poppy was more than a medicinal plant, it was a tool to achieve altered states of consciousness and visionary states, and a physical manifestation of the Great Goddess ancient Europeans worshiped.

We know poppy flowers originated in Europe, the oldest opium poppy seeds being found in Western European Neolithic burial sites of around 6000 BC. Opium poppy's are not the only psychotropic seeds found in such sites, cannabis seeds have been found too and most likely they had similar ritual uses, as well as being used for their medicinal properties. However, opium poppies' popularity meant they were imported to the rest of the continent and into Asia and Africa where we find depictions of poppies in ancient Egyptian and Assyrian art, and clay tablets describing some of their uses. In Crete, not far from Knossos,  we found figurines of an “ecstasy goddess” wearing poppy capsules in her hair. The figurines' closed eyes and relaxed smile seem to show the euphoric feelings resulting from the use of opium. These figurines date from around 1300 BC.

It's from Minoan and later Hellenic sources that we can trace the symbolism and use of opium poppy in the European Neolithic and Bronze Ages and we can attempt to reconstruct its lore.

The Minoan civilization is considered the first advanced civilization in Europe. There's no evidence of a Minoan army and everything seems to point the Minoan Empire was ruled by an elite of priestesses. The Palace of Knossos, the biggest Minoan palace, doubled its functions as temple and political and administrative centre. Minoan palaces' paintings depicted scenes of Minoans' daily lives and their beliefs. Their goddesses were represented with poppies, serpents and birds taking this way the roles of initiator, Queen of the Underworld, of the Earth and the Sky, and prophecy, among others. Archaeological evidence points Minoan priestesses used opium and other herbal potions ritually to achieve trance states.

Around 1100 BC the Minoan civilization started to decline. A series of volcanic eruptions and foreign invasions changed this refined civilization forever. Under the Mycenaean Greek rule, the Minoan Great Goddess, her opium poppy and her cult passed to mainland Greece and were assimilated into the Hellenic religion, with a more conservative cult being preserved in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

In this process of religious assimilation and syncretization the Great Goddess was split and subsumed, denigrated and transformed. The poppy as a symbol of the goddess takes a discrete place in the new religion and its myths, in fact, it will be exchanged as fruit of the Queen of the Underworld by the more acceptable and innocent pomegranate. It's worth noting the physical resemblance between the pomegranate fruit and the poppy capsule, and their parallel symbology including, blood, fertility and death.

At the centre of the Eleusinian Mysteries which promised a blessed afterlife to the initiates, we have the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. These two goddesses, mother and daughter, were represented with baskets of poppies and ears of corn. The poppy's poetic name was “daughter of the field”, and its flowers splashing cereal fields with their red petals are a reminder of blood sacrifices nourishing the ground. Life and death intermingled.

The myth of the abduction of Persephone, at the heart of the Eleusinian Mysteries, has different layers of meaning. The legend says, Persephone was picking flowers in the Nysian fields with other nymphs when the ground opened and Hades seized her and brought her to the Underworld to make her his wife with Zeus' blessing. Demeter mourned the loss of her daughter and rendered the earth infertile bringing death and famine to the world. Hekate witnessed Persephone's abduction and helped Demeter to reach an agreement with Zeus and Hades. Persephone was then able to spend half year with her mother and and the other half in the Underworld with her husband, bound forever to Hades after eating a handful of pomegranate's seeds.

The most obvious interpretation of this myth is it's trying to explain the changing seasons. Demeter makes the earth fertile and fruitful during spring and summer when she reunites with her daughter. The rest of the year, the earth rests while Demeter mourns. When we focus our attention to the finer details of the legend, however, we start uncovering a whole new story. Persephone is not an innocent girl picking flowers for a nice bouquet. All the listed flowers have psychotropic properties, and she's picking them in the Nysian fields, the domain of Dyonisios, god of wine and ecstasy, and widely considered an alter ego of Hades. Therefore, we can understand this myth also as the tale of Persephone's initiation as a pharmakeus/witch/priestess. This interpretation is further reinforced by the fact Hekate, goddess of witchcraft and magic, stays in the Underworld with Persephone as her minister and companion.

Despite Hades being King of the Underworld, his lore is extremely limited and most often linked to that of Persephone. He never leaves his domains and shares his role with his wife, who rules as his queen and she travels between worlds. She's actively involved in other myths too. This seems to strongly confirm Persephone is, indeed, an older and more prominent deity squeezed into the Hellenic myth.

The Eleusinian and Orphic Mysteries focus on the deities mentioned above; Demeter, Persephone, Hekate and Hades/Dyonisios but it's worth to mention the central deity linking all the others is Persephone, “the bringer of death”, the poppy goddess, Queen of the Underworld.

Hekate, Demeter and Persephone form a triad usually interpreted as crone, mother and maiden respectively. However, another name for Hekate is Melinoe, “the dark one”, goddess of ghosts and nightmares. Under this name she's the daughter of Persephone and takes the place of the maiden in the triad. It's interesting to note how Melinoe/Hekate is the goddess of ghosts and nightmares/dreams, hallucinations and spirits, and daughter of Persephone, who's the bringer of death, the opium poppy, the seed,  and daughter of Demeter, the fertile field. A full goddess' recycling.

Melinoe is not the only child of Persephone though. She's mother to the serpent Zagreus, the first child of Zeus who was supposed to take the throne from his father but was dismembered and eaten by the Titans. His heart the only piece left whole and rescued by Athena who gave it to Zeus. He then prepared an elixir with Zagreus heart and gave it to Semele to drink, who got pregnant and gave birth to the god Dyonisios, “born twice”, the reincarnation of Zagreus, god of wine and ecstasy and the prototypical shaman or mystic.

Dyonisios/Zagreus married Ariadne (“the most holy”), Minoan Lady of the Labyrinth completing this way the cycle and taking his place once again, as son-consort of the Great Goddess. Ariadne, who was also identified as another face of Persephone, keeper of the labyrinth of initiation and goddess of the snake and ecstasy. The labyrinth is an universal symbol of birth-death-rebirth and transformation.

We have seen now, the symbols and elements of the Minoan Great Goddess and her cult recycled in Greek mythology. The poppy that grows in Demeter's fields and in Hekate's garden in Kolchis, and the serpent in Zagreus. Life and death, and rebirth. The changing of seasons, the cycles of the Earth, the ages of the Moon, the power of blood, the visionary states, the seeds of the poppy and the pomegranate, and the labyrinth. A circle within a circle, within a circle...

The initiate to the Goddess mysteries would go on a vision quest, entering the labyrinth with the help of a drink of opium wine. A vision of the fertile Elisian Fields where each soul is a seed awaiting.

#mythology #persephone #demeter #hekate #ariadne #zagreus #dyonisos #minoan #goddess #opium #morphine #ancient pharmacology #my thesis #paganism #shamanism

[charlesmarlow01-blog]

What is the correct dose of kratom for pain relief?

The kratom plant is a tree. The leaves of this tree are growing in global use as a medicine and also as a recreational drug. Users like kratom for things like anxiety, depression, and cough, but it sees a lot of use as a pain reliever or to help with opioid withdrawal. The correct dose of kratom can be very helpful, but improper use can also be very unsafe. As such, dosing of kratom for pain relief or any other use should be done correctly.

How kratom works

Kratom contains a chemical known as mitraginine. This chemical acts like many opioid medications, such as morphine or codeine, in the way that it relieves pain.

Kratom dosage

The correct dosage for kratom depends on numerous factors, such as the user's health, the user's age, and various other conditions. The scientific community is still trying to determine the appropriate dosage recommendations for kratom, but as of this writing, not enough research had been done for the general guidelines. Since kratom is not legal everywhere, it is not being looked at or taken as seriously as other drugs or supplements. Always keep in mind the fact that natural products are not always completely safe, so the dosage is crucial to hit. When product labels have relevant instructions, be sure to follow them. Also consult your doctor, pharmacist or healthcare professional before using kratom.

To further complicate matters, measurements are not consistent across all types of kratom or their suppliers. You must purchase a high-quality, precision digital scale to measure your doses, as portions of kratom of the same physical size can have very different weights. This is especially true for extracts. The following information is not always as accurate, but may serve as a general guide for your dosing needs:

Average leaf powder: 1 gram = 0.035 ounces; 50 grams = 1.75 ounces; 100 grams = 3.5 ounces Bali powder: 1 tablespoon = 6.2 grams; 1 teaspoon = 2.3 grams Crushed leaf: 1 tablespoon = 2.7 grams; 1 teaspoon = 0.9 grams Malay green powder: 1 tablespoon = 6.9 grams; 1 teaspoon = 2.4 grams

Since you cannot know the proper efficient dose of kratom from the start, you must start small and then increase over time to find out what is safe and effective for you. If you are new to kratom, then just 2 or 3 grams is an excellent starting point. Be sure to eat it on an empty stomach. Do this well when you wake up or a few hours after breakfast.

After your first dose, you should wait up to 40 minutes before deciding how you feel. If you think you need more, take another gram or two. Wait another half hour before checking how you feel. Usually you won't need more kratom after that, but if you want you can get a third dose of half a gram to 2 grams.

Your weight should also take your dose into account. For example, if you weigh less than 149 pounds, then starting with a 1.5 gram dose is a good option. Lower doses help you avoid tolerance problems.

How to use Kratom

There is more than one way to take kratom. What is best for you is frankly your decision. The traditional method is to simply put the powder in your mouth and drink a good sip of water. Mix the powder and water in your mouth before swallowing. You may find this to be easier if you spread the powder through multiple bites or swallows.

Kratom Pills are another way to take it. Capsules are an easy way to take it, but you may find that the pills are not as effective. The effects may take longer to come into play, and you will need a higher dose.

Another simple method is to put the powder in food and drinks. Making a tea with it by putting it in water is a common method, although you can also put it in a protein shake or yogurt. On the other hand, kratom is more effective on an empty stomach, so this way of doing things may not be as effective as you would like.

Safety and side effects

When taken orally, kratom is potentially unsafe for most people. That's why starting with low doses is essential, especially since tolerance can build up over time, which means you will need higher doses to get the same effect, which can be dangerous.

When taking kratom by mouth, numerous potential side effects have been observed. These include thyroid problems, hallucinations, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, numbness of the tongue, vomiting, need to urinate, aggression, and delusions. At higher doses, kratom can cause breathing difficulties, seizures, liver damage, inflammation of the brain, and even death.

Kratom can create a dependency if you take it regularly. However, those who are frequent users of kratom and then stop doing it may also experience side effects or withdrawal symptoms. These include suppressed appetite, muscle spasms and pain, watery eyes, trouble sleeping, hot flashes, fever, anger, anxiety, spasms, and diarrhea.

Anyone who is breastfeeding, pregnant, or trying to become pregnant should avoid using kratom. Lack of reliable information makes security highly questionable in these circumstances to date.

People with alcohol dependence who use kratom appear to have a higher suicide rate or suicide attempt compared to non-alcoholic kratom users. Furthermore, kratom can theoretically worsen any mental disorder present along the same lines, with an increased risk of suicide.

Legality

Check with the laws, rules and regulations of your local, regional or national government before buying or using kratom. Largely unknown and unregulated in many areas, there are many others that have banned its sale and / or use. Others restrict it, but do not ban it entirely, and many other locations seek to ban it as their awareness of it grows. Be sure to stay on the right side of the law.

#Kratom Pills #Kratom

[sixpenceee]

A list of the world’s deadliest drugs

More interesting posts like this here: sixpenceee.com/tagged/world

Jimson Weed (Datura): According to reddit user MinionNo9

"When I was in undergrad I took a very popular class (300 seats, 2-3 times a semester, always full) that was 50/50 cults and drugs. The professor talked about datura pretty early on because he once had some students in his class that decided to make tea out of it before he had a chance to cover it.

It was bad and I can't remember everything he said they did. One girl ended up crawling on the road from the bar area back to the dorms leaving a bloody trail behind her. Others were falling face first off tables. Another was found hiding naked in a closet and had to be wrestled into an ambulance. It took some of them months to recover and he said they still aren't quite right.

The guy was very drug positive otherwise and always emphasized how to be safe."

Opiates: According to reddit user havesomeagency

"Opiates, they're some sneaky fuckers. They don't even seem that dangerous at first, they just make everything feel... Ok. Sure I didn't sleep enough last night, and I've been standing at work for hours, but I took a pill and everything just seems all rosy, I feel great!

Until they run out and you start getting cravings and scheming up ways to get more even though you told yourself it was just a short term thing. I had bad cravings for months, I'm not trying to play with that fire anymore."

Salvia: by reddit user *deleted*

"Salvia. Worst drug experience I've ever had. I took a big bong rip of some 25x and laid down on my bed in the dark. I lived a lifetime as some kind of mantis creature imprisoned in a spinning, primary-colored three sided tent. My hands were attached to two sides, and my feet were bound together and attached to the third. The most fucked up part is I knew I was there for a purpose, and I knew I deserved it. I looked down at my feet, and the spinning was driving me down toward some very large lawnmower blades.

"I'm going to be cut to ribbons," I remember thinking as my feet went into the blades. About the time they reached my waist, the walls my hands were bound to opened up and I was ripped apart. That's when I came to. It was something like 8 minutes later. Fuck that shit. Never again."

Krockodil: Warning on looking up pictures of krockodil effects. It's a flesh-eating drug. According to Time. “The active ingredient, codeine, is a mild opiate sold over the counter in many countries. Users mix codeine with a brew of poisons such as paint thinner, hydrochloric acid and red phosphorus scraped from the strike pads on matchboxes. The result—a murky yellow liquid with an acrid stink—mimics the effect of heroin at a fraction of the cost.

But addicts pay dearly for krokodil's cheap high. Wherever on the body a user injects the drug, blood vessels burst and surrounding tissue dies, sometimes falling off the bone in chunks. That side effect has earned krokodil its other nickname: the zombie drug. The typical life span of an addict is just two or three years.” 

As said by Ian5133:

"Krokodil (shitty, homemade, particularly dangerous desomorphine, which itself is about 10x as strong as morphine). Makes you look scaly, right up until your flesh starts rotting so much it it falls off and you basically look like a zombie, if you don't die before that happens. It really is some horrible shit."

Meth: As said by reddit user *deleted*

"I think Meth is the most dangerous. You become addicted after one use, or I did anyway. It turns you into a thief, a liar and a overall anxious irritating person. It messes your completion up something terrible. Your family won't talk to you. Presumably because you stole, lied and were irritating to them. IT'S HARD TO QUIT! I've been clean for 8 years and still have very lucid dreams about using. It's a stupid drug and a stupid thing to put yourself through."

#sixpenceee #drugs #addiction #tw:drugs

[milliebarter-blog]

What are the Essentials of Buying Oxycontin

If you're taking a medicine for depression and have recently learned about OxyContin, or some of the narcotic painkillers like Vicodin, Percocet, morphine, and codeine, you may wish to believe twice. OxyContin has been linked to kidney damage, heart attacks, strokes and death, in one case. Some physicians have taken to calling it the"death pill" due to its potential fatal side effects. This drug has been on the market and yet doctors still take advantage of the deceptive advertising tactics of companies, while patients that buy the drug unknowingly.

The problem with OxyContin is that you're taking . So as to work, the painkiller has to be able to penetrate the lining of their stomach and small intestine, which is where many pain killers do their damage. When this medication is taken by you, it can come in touch with your stomach acid, which will harm your stomach tissue, which makes it hard for the body.

Due to the simple fact that the medication is too big to pass through the gastrointestinal tract, it has a hard time. In order to stay successful, the drug has to pass through the stomach and intestine and then enter the blood. While you may be thinking of rosy scenarios, the actual results can be harmful.

Recently, people have started to notice that some individuals, including many doctors, are currently taking OxyContin for extended periods of time, when they should not be taking the medication even if they are not sick. For example, many people taking this medication for pain are becoming addicted to the drug, because it is so powerful.

If the drug is taken by you and then decide to not get a massage, you might feel nothing or a little numb . It's possible to end up. If you're hooked on this drug, you may get rid of the capacity work with machinery, or to drive, or walk up stairs.

If you are hooked on OxyContin, then you may wind up getting high blood pressure heart palpitations, fainting, or even heart failure. As when the risks aren't sufficient, there's another side effect that is dangerous.

This medication is quite addicting. Taking it every day dependent on the pain, and may have you determined by the drug it causes.

If you are addicted to OxyContin, the withdrawal symptoms are often worse than the drug addiction itself. Your body can develop withdrawal symptoms such as nausea diarrhea, and nausea. It's not uncommon for those that have been hooked on this medication to develop complications related to the tract.

If you're a frequent user of the medication, the drug itself may not be greater than your risk of developing an addiction. Many individuals have developed a severe addiction to the drug, and most are most likely to be addicted. This can be deadly, especially if you are not prescribed the right kind of medication.

The dangers of OxyContin are far too many to list them here, however, the thing about the drug is that it doesn't prevent people from getting addicted. In order to cure an addiction, you need to have a rest in the addictive substance, which makes it quite difficult for most people to give up this kind of drug.

The fact is that this is a really bad drug, and it should never be prescribed to anyone. There's no advantage to the individual and any benefit is far outweighed by addiction's negative effects. It's sad to see physicians force addicts to take the drug, when their lives aren't at risk, even though the drug is dangerous and potentially deadly. You can buy roxycodone 30mg online, simply by following the link.

Before you decide to take a medication for depression, ensure if the side effects are worth the benefits, and you ask questions regarding the medication being prescribed. Speak with your doctor In case you have an addiction to any painkillers.

[azrealini]

Callout for Publicly Harassing a Minor

Okay, so this something I’ve been dealing with a very long time, that others had been dealing with long term as well, and I’ve realized this won’t ever stop. I need to speak out about the harassment and manipulation Mariah (known as h/on/or/and/a/g/un) had caused for such a long time. 

Disclaimer: Yes, the evidence is old, because I blocked her a while ago: right before I left for boot camp and A school. I’ve been busy. But I know the harassment, manipulation, and lies have been going on for quite some time. 

So, under the cut, is only just a portion of everything that had been going on. 

Mariah is, in fact, an Ex girlfriend of mine, and, yes, while I realize she was married at the time, she had convinced me that she was in the process of divorcing her ‘abusive’ husband. Within the half year that I’d known her (from February to October), she had been nothing but manipulative and negative from the start. 

Her behavior had always been bad, but as time passed, only seemed to be getting worse; the harassment got worse and the stories and lies she spun seemed to get more outrageous.

Listed below are only a few instances of such. 

Harassing a Minor (17)

Harassing Another User in their Own Discord Server In Spite of the Other Leaving Silently

Spreading Rumors and Lies

That my parents are abusive and sent me to jail over an incident involving incense. 

That I was sending nudes (and, even if I had been, it was none of her business to brag about receiving them in the first place)

Accusing me of forcing others to take sides in spite of our seemingly peaceful break up.

The final words spoken in our supposedly peaceful break up

And, only a few days later, accusing me of turning friends against them in spite of the fact that they had actually blocked one of the users mentioned.

Lying about her abusive circumstances so people would buy more commissions

Her faked attempted Suicide

I’ll apologize the only way to view them is to hit the reblog button on the blog.

Where apparently she took 8 codeine pills to get high on Jan 1st

A post supposedly made by her husband about her suicide Jan 1st

She supposed comes out of said coma in a little over that 24 hours and is put on mandatory psyche eval for 72 hours Jan 3rd

She is home Jan 5th

The numbers seems a little odd, don’t they? How she’s supposedly in a coma and wakes up almost immediately? Or how she doesn’t seem to suffer any long lasting medical issues in spite of not only taking 8 codeine pills, but suffering a head injury, the combination being strong enough to put her into a coma?

And doesn’t it also seem a bit odd that her husband (assuming that he really didn’t write this and that this is just another lie she made) admits to his abuse and domestic violence online, that she’d most likely suffer from marks due to hitting her head, and barely anyone bats an eye? Or doesn’t anyone find it odd that the message goes from ‘be gentle with her’ to ‘yell at her, idgaf’. Would an abusive husband even care to tell anyone she was in the hospital? 

All of this reeks of a huge lie,and the very first in many.

Other Instances of bad behavior

In all honesty, the entire time I spent with this woman was nothing but Hell, and I’m glad I left, but I’m afraid she’s not done yet. Anyways, it’s up to yall to decide whether she’s toxic or not. I’ve already experienced it. 

Goodnight. 

#every day #this shit was every day #and if she wasn't constantly talking about how abusive her entire family was #she was pulling shit to get others angry at her #it was constant #and nooooo #nothing was ever her fault unless she was trying to get people to send her their pity #everything is everyone else's fault #it's our fault for blocking her #it's our fault for not putting up with her shit #it's constant and I'm sick of it #callout post #callout #oc #art community

[sabrinacavanagh]

Are Pharmaceutical Companies Responsible for the Opioid Crisis?

The opioid crisis has claimed many lives in the United States and leaves many dependent on opioids. But who really is responsible? Who should be held accountable? Are pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid crisis? Or is it the federal government?

A poll by NPR and Ipsos finds that 57% of Americans believe pharmaceutical companies should be held responsible for making the opioid crisis worse. Data reveals drug companies supplied and pushed out highly addictive painkillers at the height of the opioid crisis. They were available like any other over-the-counter medicine. According to Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), 76 billion pills were distributed between 2006 and 2012. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that in in 2019 alone, over 70,000 drug overdose deaths has been recorded.

Who Should Stand Accountable – What The Experts Say

Addictionology expert Dr. Rob Kelly shares his take on who should be held accountable. He says:

The bottom line is, it’s not the person going for the payments. It’s the company that is making this very strong painkiller. They are pushing them out with hundreds of sales representatives to push these extortionate pain medicines to their patents. Doctors and physiatrists are 100% responsible for prescribing to their patients. They got incentives to write prescription opioids to their patients and then enjoy a nice vacation with their family.

As an emergency room physician, Dr. Chris Johnson has worked on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. He mentions that the opioid epidemic is not a sudden accident but a panned disaster. The broken medical industry has made up this crisis at the expense of effective, compassionate medicine driven by science.

He brings an urgent message on the need to reform a medical industry that has prioritized business interests over patient safety. He remarked:

Those of us who were in charge of our health and safety failed us.

What are Opioids?

To better understand the issue that is the opioid crisis, we need to define what opioids are.

Opioids are prescription drugs used to treat acute and chronic pains. Opioids are the class of the drug that interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the body and the brain. They have the potential to decrease pain and activate the reward areas in the brain by realizing the hormone dopamine and creating a feeling of euphoria. These are some examples of opioids:

Oxycodone

Morphine

Codeine

However, among society, these compounds are widely feared because of their association with addiction, abuse, and other adverse effects. Despite these fears, the use of opioids continues to increase across North America. Canada and the US are the two major consumers where rise in demand of opioids are noticeable. In 2016 alone, around 46 Americans died every day due to drug overdoses involving prescription opioids. In comparison, daily drug overdose rate in 1999 is only 5 per day. In Canada, a total of 2,458 deaths were attributed to opioid overdose. This was the deadliest opioid crises in Canadian history.

History of the Opioid Crisis

Throughout history, opioids were only prescribed to treat severe acute pains for cancer patients and the terminally ill. In the mid 90s, new opioid pain killers like OxyContin were marketed aggressively. The pharmaceutical industry was relentless and claimed that OxyContim was less addictive. This aggressive and misleading marketing contributed to a sharp increase in the availability of opioids. Despite these claims, many people who are prescribed OxyContin moved from legitimate use to dependence and then abuse.

Over the next decade, the prescription of opioids painkillers exploded. Individuals who lost access to legitimate sources turn to heroin as a cheaper and more accessible alternative. Data from a decade of research showed that the initiation of heroin usage was 19 times higher among those who have already tried another opioid. In addition, a study in 2012 found that 86% of injected heroin users had used opioids before trying heroin. Notably, injected drug use also increases the chances of contracting infectious diseases.

Opioid Crisis Caused Massive Losses

As a result, deaths from overdose involving heroin tripled between 2010 and 2015. Then in 2014, potent synthetic opioids like Fentanyl entered the drug market in large amounts. British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta have been hit hard by this surge.

In 2016, 931 people from British Columbian died from opioid drug overdose with fentanyl detected in 60% of those deaths. That is three times the number that died from motor vehicle accidents in the same state.

The biggest issue is that illicit drugs especially heroin have been cut with fentanyl. Fentanyl is a prescription opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a drug best kept in a locking medication bag never to be opened. Fentanyl is easily produced and relatively cheap so it became a lucrative business for drug cartels. Most of the production of Fentanyl takes place in China and then distributed through illegal channels.

Should Opioid Prescriptions Be Stopped?

The existence of the opioid crisis does not necessarily mean physicians should stop prescribing opioids. Opioids provide quality of life for many people who take them responsibly by keeping them in small locking bags for medications. Suddenly removing access to opioids from those that depend on the drugs can easily push people towards more dangerous alternatives.

Is Opioid Addiction Preventable?

Health care providers should be well aware of the long-term effects of opioids and their associated risks including addiction. Health care provider should also advise patients on taking preventive measures regarding prescription. Keeping opioids in a locking container or small locking bags for medications can be recommended to avoid mishandling. If patients start to show symptoms of addiction, medical professionals should intervene and give them access to therapeutic and rehabilitative assistance.

What Can be Done?

There are many variables but any solution requires controlling the distribution of prescription opioids and expanding access to medication-assisted treatment. In Toronto, police started keeping tabs on life-saving drugs that can reverse the effects of a Fentanyl overdose. All measures must be taken to put a damper on the growing number of overdose deaths. If you or someone you know regularly uses prescription opioids, you should be aware of the signs of an overdose. These include sleepiness, slow heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and cold clammy skin. In all cases of suspected overdose you should immediately call the healthcare helpline.

What’s the Verdict?

Are pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid crisis? Being the enablers, pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the opioid crisis with their aggressive push on the use of opioids with little regard for other pain management strategies. Nonetheless, the federal government is also partly to blame for letting it get out of hand. People should be held accountable.