What Kind of Drug Is It?

Morphine is a natural product of the opium poppy plant. Of the many mind-altering compounds in the opium poppy, morphine is the strongest. The drug has many important medical uses, all having to do with pain control. It is never used to treat emotional or psychological problems.

For many people recovering from painful surgery—and for even more people facing the daily agony of end-stage cancer—morphine can dramatically improve their quality of life. The drug, called an OPIATE, has been used for pain relief for many years, in many different cultures worldwide.

When prescribed for a patient by a physician, morphine can help speed recovery from operations, ease the pain and trauma of childbirth, and give dying people relief from incurable pain. When used illegally as a recreational drug solely to get high, morphine is highly addictive with many unpleasant side...