Opioids and the LawIllicit drug use and the debate surrounding the various legal options available to the government in an effort to reduce it are nothing new in America. Since the enactment of the Harrison Narcotics Act in 1914 (Erowid), the public has grappled with how to effectively deal with the phenomenon, from arresting individual users to deciding what to do with those who are convicted. (DEA). The ever-growing list of substances that can be abused further complicates the problem. Some are concocted in basements or bathtubs by addicts themselves, others in the laboratories of multinational pharmaceutical companies, and still others are just old compounds waiting for society to discover them. Almost overnight, one of these venerable substances (or classes of substances) was catapulted. at the forefront of the national scene: prescription painkillers, particularly those derived from the opium poppy. This class of painkillers includes everything from the codeine in prescription cough syrup to the morphine used to treat severe pain. These compounds are commonly called opiates and are produced naturally by the poppy plant. The subclass of this type that has received most attention recently is that of opioids, which are semi-synthetic compounds derived from opiates (Wade 846). Opioids were developed for a variety of reasons, such as reducing the cost of production (morphine is expensive to synthesize) and trying to reduce the addictive nature of the drugs. And they are addictive. Heroin is perhaps the most well-known opioid and arguably one of the most addictive substances known to man. Opiates and opioids (hereinafter referred to generically as opioids) work by attaching to receptor sites in the body called mu receptors, which are primarily located in the brain and digestive system. When these receptors are activated in the brain, they produce a rush of euphoria and a groggy state of well-being (interestingly, studies have shown that this action does not eliminate the pain felt, but simply changes the perception of pain). he) (Kalb). However, the body quickly becomes tolerant to this phenomenon and abuse often follows a steep dosage curve requiring that an increasing amount of drug be taken to produce the same effect. Long-term abusers develop... middle of paper ... prevents them from indulging in their habit. The truth is that no change or modification to existing policy will have much, if any, effect on the current state of affairs. It is not enough to ban drugs, we must work to understand their appeal and the complex mechanisms in our brains and psychology that make some of us too weak to resist temptation. Only with this type of concentrated effort will we see progress. Works Cited Erowid Psychoactive Vaults. Home page. April 6, 2001. Kalb, Claudia. “Playing with painkillers.” Newsweek April 9, 2001: 45-47. Richwine, Lisa. "U.S. launches fight against prescription drug abuse." YahooNews. April 10, 2001. Rosenberg, Debra. “How a City Got Addicted.” News week. April 9, 2001: 48-51. Sacco, Vincent F and Kennedy, Leslie W. The Criminal Event. New York: Wadsworth, 1996. United States Drug Enforcement Agency. Home page. April 6, 2001. Wade, LG Jr. Organic Chemistry. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999: 846-847.