Morphine

Reasons for use of product (history):

Morphine is a common term that is used to describe a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers (http://www.drigs.com/morphine.html). As a whole, morphine is used to treat moderate to severe pain. There are two distinguishing types of morphine – short-acting and extended-release (http://www.drugs.com/morphine.html). Short-acting morphine is normally taken as needed for immediate pain. Extended-release is for use when around-the-clock pain relief is needed, such as the morphine found in hospital IV tubes.

Morphine occurs naturally in the (-) form. In 1952, chemists at the University of Rochester successfully synthesized the product (J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1952). However, morphine has been used in the opium form for centuries. Opium is created by the poppy plant. In the 16th century, a Swiss physician named Paracelcus experimented with opium and renamed it Laudanum due to its high medical value. However, the true discovery of morphine is attributed to 1803. Serturner, a German pharmacist, was able to isolate the main ingredient of opium – morphine. The alkaloid was named Morphia after the Greek God of Dreams Morpheus. Currently, the term morphine is used in place of Morphia because it is standard nomenclature to end all alkaloids in “ine” (http://web1.caryacademy.org/).

Chemical reactions involved in use:

Morphine has a pentacyclic structure with a benzylisoquinoline nucleus that supports ether, hydroxyl, and olefinic functions. It’s chemical formula is C H NO . It’s IUPAC name is (5 ,6 )-7,8-Didehydro-4,5-epoxy-17-methylmorphinan-3,6-diol. Morphine is used to produce harder drugs such a herion or cocaine. The drug is a central nervous system depressant that attaches to and activates opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and gut. It fights with endorphins--the endogenous opioids in the body that soothe pain--for the receptors. Opium is a sticky brown resin obtained by collecting and drying the latex that exudes from the lanced poppy pods, whereas concentrated poppy straw is extracted from the pods after the plants have been harvested. Morphine is then made into white powder involving water, pH adjustment, and organic solvents. Morphine’s free base in its anionic (morphinate) form is soluble in basic aqueous solutions at pH 11 or above, whereas other opium alkaloids are some what insoluble and normally precipitate out of basic aqueous solutions (http://www.drugs.com/cons/Morphine.html).


Benefits:

Morphine is specifically designed to counteract pain. Due to morphine’s pain relieving properties, new analgesics are measured against the standard form. Therefore, all newly synthesized pain killing drugs are compared to morphine to determine effectiveness and the degree of pain alleviation (http://web1.caryacademy.org/). Morphine is typically given to hospital patients with various physical conditions that are known to cause extreme pain. In this case, patients in the hospital are either given morphine through timed release tablets or through intravenous drips on regulated timers. Other was of ingestion are syrup, tablets, soltions, and capsules.

Disadvantages:

As a pain killing drug, morphine can be very addicting. Users are able to develop a tolerance, which will only increase the necessary dosage to feel affected. This is the major disadvantage to morphine. It is unfortunately available through illegal means if one is not able to receive a prescription. The morphine acquired without medicinal consent might not be of the same quality and can have extremely adverse affects, and this misuse should be avoided at all costs.

Common side affects to using morphine include constipation, warmth, tingling or redness under the skin, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, sleep problems, and headaches (http://www.drigs.com/morphine.html). If more severe side affects are seen such as shallow breathing, seizures/convulsions, confusion, severe weakness, or fainting, then one should consult a doctor immediately. Allergic reactions may also be seen. If hives, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing occurs, emergency medical attention must be attained.
Morphine is also highly addictive and creates a tolerance, which means that higher and higher doses are required to continue the same effect.

Another major disadvantage of using morphine is the possibility of an overdose. An overdose can be fatal and one must seek medical attention immediately. This way, morphine can be flushed from the bodily system.

Social Responsibility of manufacturer:

Opium poppys are illegal to be grown and if a person is caught with non perscribed morphine then they are sentenced to jail for a minimum of five yearsand a $2 000 fine. Hospitals or drug stores are not responsibile for any mis-hap or overdose of this drug. The morphine dosage for adults for shor-acting releif is 10 – 30 mg every four hours. Children dosage is determined by the doctor. (http://www.aod.uconn.edu/resources_dfc_policy.html)

Supervision of use of manufacture:

Due to the highly addicting nature of morphine, the Harrison Narcotics Act was passed in 1914 (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/converstory/83/8325/8325morphine.html). This act called for control of each phase of preparation and distribution of medicinal opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine, and any new derivative with similar properties. These controlled substances are now illegal to possess without prescriptions, which come with strict usage guidelines to avoid addiction, over dosage, and the overall misuse of the product. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) controls the disperse of morphine. Morphine is only prescribed through medical examinations and for limited amounts. Due to the severity of the side affects and the high dependency, the drug is administered in infrequence bouts if alternatives can be found. Morphine is commercially available in a variety of products as the free base monohydrate and as hydrochloride, sulfate, tartrate, and other salts.