I was just talking with my dad and somehow we got on the subject of opiate painkillers. We seem to strongly disagree on some facts.
He believes that heroine has no painkilling properties at all.
According to him: morphine is the actual drug that is initially extracted from the poppy plant, and the morphine is then “filtered” (his word, though I took it to mean “made to undergo chemical changes”) in such a way as to eventually become the final product, heroine. This “filtering” process removes all painkilling properties and other stuff, leaving only the “high” which is why heroine has no medicinal value.
I believe: that the high and the painkilling properties are the same thing more or less. I am not in disagreement with the fact that morphine is the chemical initially extracted (I’m actually not sure). But it is my understanding that morphine and all its derivatives (hydrocodone, codeine, etc. and yes, heroine) work much in the same way. I remember learning that these drugs mimick our naturally produced endorphins (which produce a euphoric feeling, hence the idea of an “endorphin rush”). So that, it is the same mechanism that both produces the high and kills the pain. Therefore heroine would have to be a painkiller as well and the reason why it is not used medicinally is simply because it is so incredibly addicting and, IIRC, 3X more potent than morphine.
But I admit, I’m really not sure. You have the floor.
heroin IIRC, was first developed as the ‘better’ alternative, less addictive kin to opium/morphine. but this site, entitled “heroin and related pain killers” should provide ammunition for you.
Heroin was developed by Bayer in the late 19th century, and sold predominately as a cough and respiratory ailment treatment. It was also used in the treatment of morphine addiction, much like methadone is used currently for heroin addiction. It was originally thought that heroin was a much safer drug. It took a few years for them to realize that heroin was also addictive, and just as dangerously abusable. A backround article:
Take it from a former drug abuser…ALL opiates have both analgesic and euphoric properties. They vary in intensity.
Generally, though, the stronger the painkiller, the better the high.
I believe (I’m not a doctor) that diamorphine (heroin), though strictly controlled, can be legally prescribed here in the UK, and is used in cases where the need for pain control outweighs the danger of addiction (like, for instance, for terminal cancer patients - this is the context in which I’ve heard of this).
Anyone with UK medico-legal background care to check in?