Basics
Opium is the air-dried milk juice of the opium poppy - Papaver somniferum - which is native to Central Europe. The milk juice (opium) contains a lot of alkaloids, i.e. a group with basic and nitrogen-rich compounds, including morphine and codeine. Opium has analgesic and cough-relieving properties. Opium can also be used to treat diarrhea . Unfortunately, opium is also taken as a narcotic, which is strongly discouraged due to its high potential for dependence and adverse effects. Opium in itself is a multi-substance mixture, which means that it contains many active ingredients. The main component of opium is morphine, which is known to be used in medicine. Morphine is therefore often mistakenly equated with opium, but this is not correct, because in addition to morphine, opium also contains other active ingredients such as thebaine, codeine, papaverine, xanthaline and noscapine. The natural active ingredients of opium(morphine, codeine, thebaine,...) are called opiates. Structurally similar, or similarly acting substances are called opioids.