Positive Effects Of Opium Usage

Opium has negative and positive affects on the brain and this dynamic of affects can also be seen with its behavioral and health effects depending on length and frequency of the usage. At the start of opium usage users experience positive effects including a sense of euphoria, relaxation and a decrease pain which stems from its analgesic properties. Then shortly thereafter individuals begin to feel lethargic. Unfortunately, extended usage of opium comes with negative behavioral changes. These range from changes in libido, which is often inhibited as well as increases in anxiety or in mood disturbances. Opium usage has also been shown to increase the risky behaviors of users. These risky behaviors will usually stop upon cessation of opium usage

(Kalant, 1997, pp. 271-272). A study of behaviors associated with the use of two opium products in Iran known as opium and opium dross revealed that usage leads to increases in risky behaviors. Dross users had high rates of risky occupation choice including burglary and drug trafficking and both groups had high rates of risky sexual behavior (Noohi, Azar, Behzadi et.

al, 2011, pp.76-78). Dross was shown to be more addictive than regular opium and most users were reported addicts thus, the risky behaviors associated with this population support the idea that dependence and abuse of opium leads to many negative behavioral changes. Opium has a wide array of positive effects on health with acute usage and is commonly used in medicine. Opium has been used for centuries as an analgesic; it also can be used as a muscle relaxant, it reduces muscle tone, which makes it beneficial to treat diarrhea or severe cramps. It also has antitussive properties and is useful in the treatment of server coughs. Opium use has negative side effects as well, which are often associated with chronic usage or toxicity. Toxicity side effects include elevated blood pressure, decreased frequency and shallower breaths, constipation, stomach pain, decreased appetite, urine retention that can cause dehydration and a decreased secretion of many important sex hormones. Chronic effects can include weight loss (cachexia) as a result of the decreased

appetite. This can even be severe enough to create malnutrition and ailments like anemia. Chronic constipation and lethargy may occur and this can lead to a loss in work and lower income. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common negative health effect leading to permanent damage of the lungs and bronchi. Decrease in sex hormones associated with acute usage can manifest into disruptions of menstruation and a decrease in fertility in both men and women. Users may also experience impairment in memory and mental processing speed as well as motivation (Kalant, 1997, pp. 271-272). The behavioral and health effects of opium mirror usage and can progress from positive to negative as opium usage becomes chronic. The knowledge of both its negative and positive effects on health and behavior has played a large role in its history including it availability and has also affected demographic usage trends.
Since opium was first discovered it has had a complex history and its availability, methods of administration and demographic trends have paralleled research on its positive and negative effects and knowledge of its new properties. Opium’s availability has changed throughout history as a result of prominent historical events and demographic trends have reflected its availability. It is likely that there were large groups of addicts from the middle ages onward; however, they were all those from the upper class who could afford medical care (Booth, 1998). There is reference to its recreational use throughout history and it was only in the Romantic and Victorian era through the 18th century that a distinction between medical and recreational use was created. Before this, Opium was readily available and very cheap and could be purchased for less than alcohol.

It was even recommended as a remedy for upset children (Wright, 2001, p. 513). Many disapproved of this worldwide and this lead to the passing of legislation in many countries. For instance, “The Opium Wars”, which were disputes between the Chinese and British about the import and sale of opium in China by the British lead to motions in parliament. These failed to pass but they did lead to a decline in the opium trade that decreased availability. Eventually in 1906 a bill was passed that supported the end of the opium trade for the British and it ended it 1913 (Hart & Ksir, 2013, p.300). Legislation in the US was passed first to control international trade in 1833 and then to tax imports into the US in 1842. Opium use in the US thereafter experienced a demographic shift and imported Chinese workers after the Civil War brought opium smoking with them and it caught on. These new workers were of the lower class so not surprisingly this habit began to spread amongst the lower class and laboring Americans including gamblers and prostitutes (Hart & Ksir, 2013, p.52). Opium dens were still prevalent despite this throughout the 19th century and they even stayed open through World

War II after the many laws that had been passed preventing its use. Its sale and production became very restricted in 1914 with the Harrison Act after writing highlighted its negative effects and dependency issues. This lead to a huge change in the demographic trends associated with usage. Its price jumped as a result of the legislation and its prohibition and this lead to a decrease in availability. This caused the formation of huge worldwide crime organizations focused on the sale and distribution of opium and its derivatives. Now addicts were those of the upper middle class who could utilize expensive physicians to obtain opium and its derivatives (Wright, 2001, p. 513). Current research suggests that opium use has increased since the 1970’s and is still increasing but at a slower pace (De Angelis, Hickman, Yang, 2004, p.999). Much like opium’s availability has changed overtime its method of administration has also changed. Today it can be taken through various methods including: smoking, swallowing, injecting, sniffing or inhaling. In the past opium could only be administered through smoking or eating. It could be swallowed or eaten in solid form and one could even drink it by dissolving it in other liquids. Prior to the technique of cutting the pods to get the sap was discovered, the first method of administration might have been drinking it. This made ingestion of opium easer because not only did raw opium taste very bitter, but also it was very harsh on the stomach and could cause severe vomiting. Despite its unpleasant taste there is research that suggests it has been taken orally in India for over 1500 years. In 1687 record describes how Turks took opium orally by mixing it with a variety of spices including cardamom and nutmeg. Then in Europe it was mixed with wine and sugar and honey was sometimes added. Smoking was only prevalent in China, the East Indies and the Eastern- Indo seaboard of China including Taiwan and Vietnam. In the nineteenth century the British Pharmacopeia published a method for preparing opium for smoking by reducing it to an extract that doubled the concentration. Thereafter, opium smoking increased dramatically in prevalence. The opium was smoked through a pipe and the smoker reclined and was often able to fall asleep quickly after smoking. Since the discovery of smoking opium its method of smoking has not changed and in places where it is still smoked such as the Shan states, China, Laos and Thailand many of the same pipes are used. One can even experience some of the effects of opium by walking through a poppy field. Overall in many third world countries in which opium is still used it is still administered in the same ways as in the past including eating and predominantly smoking; however, in technologically advanced countries opium is not heavily used (Booth, 1998,pp.11-14). Opium use has had wide historical variability in the means of administration, availability and demographic usage throughout the world, which has paralleled historical events and legislation even in technologized countries such as the United States.