Quote"If we could smell or swallow something which, for five or six hours a day, would abolish our loneliness as individuals, atone with our fellow men in a luminous exaltation of affection, and make the life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and meaningful, and if this celestial and world-transfiguring drug were such that it would allow us to wake up the next morning with a clear mind and an intact constitution - then, a it seems to me, all our problems (and not just the little problem of discovering a new pleasure) would be completely solved and the earth would become a paradise."ALDOUS HUXLEY1894 – 1963Opiates are derived from opium. Opium is a gummy substance harvested from the seed of the opium poppy. This plant grows in southern Asia. Their use and abuse dates back to ancient times and they are among the oldest powerful painkillers known (Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan, 2010). The pain-relieving and europhia effects of opioids were known to the Summerians (4000 BC) and the Egyptians (2000 BC) (Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan, 2010). Some opioids, such as morphine and codeine, occur naturally in opium. Opioids are sedatives, meaning they slow down the part of the brain that controls breathing. It is also known to impair performance on psychomotor tasks (body movements associated with mental activity) due to their sedative and mind-fogging effects (Page, 2005). Prescription drugs are classified according to their addictive potential. Opioids are divided into three classes and, depending on whether they have been extracted directly from the opium poppy, morphine or codeine, chemically modified oxycodone or fully synthetic methadone are suggested (CAMH, 2010). Opioid Pain Medications ...... mid-paper ......le on prescription drug abuse.ReferencesWorks CitedAddiction.com, M. (2011). Common opioids. Retrieved from My Addictions.com: www.myaddictions.com/catergories/common_opioids.htmlCAMH. (2010, October 21). Center for Addiction and Mental Health. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Canada, H. (2009, December 16). Healthy life. Retrieved from Opioid Pain Medications: www.hc-sc.gc.caPage, G.G. (2005, January 5). Immunological effects of opioids in the presence and absence of pain. Retrieved from Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: www.jpsmjournal.com/article/PIIS0885392405000321/fulltextPeele, S. (1988). Major contemporary perspectives on addiction and alcoholism. New York, NY: Lexington Books.Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan. (2010, December 9). Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved from Opioid Abuse: www.emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview