The Opiates

Opium, Heroin, Morphine, and the others

General Information

Understanding the Heroin Problem

Frequently Asked Questions About Heroin, Morphine, and the Opiates - Heroin/Morphine FAQ - A quick guide to the basics about heroin, morphine, and the related opiate drugs in plain layman's language.

For all those who want to understand the background of the heroin problem, we recommend the following chapters from the first section of the Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Opioids - by Mike Hamilton

RX Drugs - The 60 Minutes show on the heroin maintenance clinics in Liverpool, England.

Methadone in the Treatment of Narcotic Addiction - Dr Andrew J. Byrne, MB BS

Report of the External Panel on the Evaluation of the Swiss Scientific Studies of Medically Prescribed Narcotics to Drug Addicts - April, 1999

Social characteristics of participants in Swiss multicenter opiate trials at time of entry

Programme for a Medical Prescription of Narcotics - Final Report of the Research Representatives - Ambros Uchtenhagen, Felix Gutzwiller and Anja Dobler-Mikola (Eds.) - Switzerland

CHRONIC USE OF OPIOIDS AND ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS: SIDE EFFECTS, EFFECTS ON ENDOGENOUS OPIOIDS, AND TOXICITY - Annals New York Academy of Sciences pp151-172

METHADONE AND OPIATE DRUGS: PSYCHOTROPIC EFFECT AND SELF-MEDICATION - Annals New York Academy of Sciences, 1982. V.398 pp 44-53

Optimizing Response to Methadone Maintenance Treatment: Higher Dose Methadone by Sarz Maxwell, MD, Marc Shinderman, MD, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: Vol-31 #2, April - June 1999

Germany: We Demand: Heroin To Be Provided By The State Pubdate: Tuesday, 16 June 1998 Source: Die Tageszeitung

Opioid Pain Killers Available in the US

The CIA and Opium - a Statement by Bo Gritz

How bad is Heroin Withdrawal? -- An excerpt from: Heroin, Myths and Reality , by: Jara A. Krivanek pub. 1988, Allen & Unwin -- and a general discussion, with references of the dangers of heroin.

The Role of Ethanol Abuse in the Etiology of Heroin-Related Deaths --- This is a series of excerpts from an article from the Center for Disease Control, discussing the fact that many heroin "overdoses" are actually the result of the use of alcohol and heroin at the same time. Thus, many "overdoses" might be avoided simply by telling people not to use the drugs together.

The Risk of Heroin Overdose -- Copied from p.56 (Box 5-1) of 'Drugs and Behavior' by William A. McKim.

Two Mangoes in 1979 - Prescribing Palfium to Heroin Addicts - Netherlands, 1996

Opium for the Masses: Opium Production In India - An excellent photo-essay article on the legal production of opium in India.

Opium: Dealing with the Demon -- A summary of a film about the worldwide opium and heroin market.

The CIA and Opium - a Statement by Bo Gritz

Opium and the CIA - An Interview with Professor Alfred McCoy

The CIA & The Politics of Narcotics: An Interview with Alfred McCoy by David Barsamian (conducted at University of Wisconsin-Madison, February 17,1990)

The Morphine Molecule -- A picture of the morphine molecule

Methadone

Methadone, Heroin and other Opioids A Medical Manual for Outpatient, Opioid-Supported Treatment by André Seidenberg and Ueli Honegger (c) 1997

Methadone Today - The newsletter of Detroit Organizational Needs in Treatment

The Morphine Molecule (picture)

"Junkie" - Cover of William Burroughs novel

Historical Articles on the Opiates

Historical Review of Opium/Heroin Production - by Alfred W. McCoy

Bayer Advertisement for Heroin, 1897

Opium in China (1700-1860)

Letter from Lin Tse-hsu to Queen Victoria On The Opium Trade, 1839

A Short History of the Chinese Opium Wars

Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey -- This is the famous essay on opium from the early 1800's.

An "Opium Joint" Raided. The New York Times September 28, 1891, p. 2. A quaint article about the opium problem in the 19th century.

Alcohol and Opium Compared: Opinions of over 100 Physicians on the use of Opium in China -- Compiled by William Hector Park, M.D., American Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai, 1899

What Shall They Do to Be Saved?, Harper's magazine 35, Aug. 1867, pp. 377-87. An article about the evils of opium addiction.

The Demon of the Orient Allen S. Williams, New York: "Published by the Author," 1883

The Warfare Against Opium-Smoking in America Outdoor, Feb. 6, 1909, vol. 91, p275

How the Opium Habit is Acquired by Virgil G. Eaton, The Popular Science Monthly 33, Sept. 1888, 663-67

An Enterprising Turk, The New York Times July 1, 1890, p. 8 -- This is a story about how a Turk decided to sell diluted opium and was quickly driven out of business by public exposure.

In the Land of Opium. - THE IMMENSE AREAS GIVEN TO THE GROWTH OF THE POPPY The New York Times March 29, 1896, p. 28

The Drug's History Traced from the Plant to the Pipe--The Scenes in the Indian Fields--Processes Through Which the Opium Goes--The Monopoly of Finishing for Smoking in the Hands of Chinese--View of a Lucknow Smoking Den.

The San Francisco Opium Joints -- The Review of Reviews 5 June (1892), p. 604

A lurid description of the San Francisco opium dens. It is worth noting that San Francisco had passed ordinances outlawing opium smoking in opium dens some 17 years before this article was written.

THE OPIUM INDUSTRY IN AMERICA by C.F. HOLDER Scientific American 1898, p. 147 This is a review of the opium industry as it existed in the late 19th century.