Codeine Addiction
Over six million Americans have been reported as misusing prescription drugs and while a legal drug when prescribed, many people suffer from codeine addiction. It is a natural opiate, but can be manufactured or synthesized as well. This problem of synthesizing the drug was directly related to the shortage of natural sources of opium, due to the United States War On Drugs in 1972. By the end of 1973, when stockpiles had been seriously depleted of valuable codeine and morphine resources for medicinal use, researchers found a way to develop codeine and other derivatives from coal tar or petroleum using a particular procedure that had been developed by the United States National Institutes of Health. In the US, it is currently sold as both codeine sulphate and phosphate and the beginning material for a range of opioids such as hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, and derivatives like, nicocodeine, and oxycodone. Reasons that a person may be prescribed the drug are as follows; cough, pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and diarrhea.
It may be less addictive than other opiates however, it is both physically and psychologically addictive if not taken as prescribed. This means taken in larger doses or taken more frequently than suggested. For therapeutic reasons the dosage of codeine is between 10 and 60 mg for a beginning dose. A patient develops a tolerance to the medication over a period of time and the amount may be increased with a maximum of 120 mg per dose. It is stated that the recreational dose is between 60 and 400 mg because the liver can handle no more than that at one time, and there must be time in between doses of approximately two hours. A serious addict may not only take the medication in pill or cough syrup form but may resort to other means such as snorting, freebasing, rectal solutions, and injections into the skin or muscles. Injections are the most dangerous way to use the drug and may result in anaphylaxis. In some countries, codeine is sold without a prescription, and is also sold in suppository form.
The addiction may have signs and symptoms that will result due to some of the adverse reactions that are commonly related to long-term use of this particular drug. Respiratory depression can be one of these; is directly dose-related and could result in an overdose. Itching and rashes will also be a common side effect and some people may actually have swelling of the skin. Some of the more common symptoms include nausea, dry mouth, vomiting and constipation. The person will most likely have constricted pupils or what is known as miosis. They may also suffer from spells of dizziness (orthostatic hypotension), especially if it is being taken with alcohol or sedatives. Serious reactions may result from interactions with other medications as well. There is hope for the sufferer however, this type of addiction is much less difficult to recover from than an addiction to other forms of opiates. Withdrawal symptoms from this type of opiate are also much milder.
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