Opiate & opioid facts

What are opiates and opioids?

Opiates are natural chemical compounds that are extracted or refined from plant matter, such as poppy sap and fibres. Examples of opiates include heroin, morphine, and codeine.

The terms ‘opiates’ and ‘opioids’ are often used interchangeably. However, the two are different.

Unlike opiates, opioids are chemical compounds that are not generally derived from plant matter and are commonly manufactured in a ‘lab’ or ‘synthesized’. Examples of opioids include methadone and fentanyl.

What are the street names for opiates and opioids?

Some of the most common street names for opiates and opioids include:

• Opium – Poppies, O.P., Bloc, Gum, Tar, Dope
• Codeine – Captain Cody, Cody, Little C, School Boy
• Methadone – Dolly, Meth, Mixture, Linctus, Physeptone
• Heroin – Smack, H, Horse, Gear, Skag, Brown, Stuff

What do opiates look like?

Opiate painkillers are available in a wide range of forms, and a variety of colours. They are commonly supplied in tablet, capsule or syrup form.

How are opiates/opioids used?

Opiates and opioids are used in a variety of ways, depending on their format.

Often, they are ingested in tablet, capsule, or syrup form, but can also be inhaled using a nebuliser, or absorbed via a patch on the skin.

They may also be injected or smoked.

How do people behave when they take opiates and opioids?

How someone feels and behaves after taking opiates can vary.

However, people who misuse opiates/opioids may experience mood and sleep changes and can be prone to poor decision making.

What are the side effects of opiates and opioids?

The physical side effects of opiates and opioids can depend on several factors, including how the drug is ingested, frequency of use, and the metabolism and weight of the person.

Some common side effects include:

• Dilated pupils
• Raised body temperature
• Nausea
• Hallucinations
• Reduced blood pressure and slower heart rate
• Urinary retention
• Constricted pupils
• Respiratory depression (slow/ineffective breathing)
• Drowsiness

When injected, adverse effects include vein damage, infections, and blood clots.

A person who injects opiates or opioids is also at an increased risk of overdosing or contracting life-altering infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. This risk is even greater among users who share needles.

What happens when you use opiates/opioids with other drugs?

Below is an overview of the side effects of using opiates alongside other drugs.

Alcohol and sedatives

Consuming synthetic opioids alongside alcohol or other sedatives, such as benzodiazepines, can have serious consequences, increasing the risk of overdose, which can lead to a coma or respiratory/heart failure.

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and non-fatal overdoses among recreational drug users.

Which legislation covers opiate and opioid use?

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

Under UK law, opiates and opioids fall under different classifications, based on the type of drug.

Controlled drugs refer to any substances that are tightly controlled by the government, because they pose a risk of addiction or misuse.

It is an offence for a person to have controlled drugs in their possession, unless in exceptional circumstances, such as when they have been prescribed by a doctor. This also covers activities relating to the production, supply or preparation of controlled drugs.

Class A drugs e.g. methadone and heroin

Class B drugs e.g. codeine

Drug Driving Road Traffic Act 2015

Are opiates and opioids used in medicine?

In the UK, opiates and opioids are available as analgesics, providing pain relief. An example of this is codeine, which is commonly used to treat pain after surgery or an injury.

Methadone is used to treat heroin dependency and can help reduce withdrawal symptoms.

Can you become addicted to opiates and opioids?

Opiates and opioids trigger the release of endorphins, the feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain.

Endorphins lessen a person’s perception of pain and boost feelings of pleasure, creating a temporary but powerful sense of wellbeing.

This means that a person using opiates, even when prescribed, can be vulnerable to developing a dependency or addiction.

Addiction is typically defined as a compulsive craving, which leads to repeated use of a drug – often with harmful consequences.

How long does it take for opiates and opioids to show up in a drug test?

Even after the ‘high’ has worn off, and long after the drug was first consumed, opiate/opioid use can be detected by a drug test, depending on the type of test you take.

The drug testing detection windows for opiates/opioids are as follows:

• Oral fluid (saliva) – up to 48 hours
• Urine – up to 4 days
• Hair – up to 12 months (depending on the length of hair available)
• Nails – up to 12 months (up to 6 months for fingernails and up to 12 months for toenails)

Oral fluid and urine drug testing are known as ‘narrow-window’ forms of testing and can be used to detect drug use from 30 minutes after consumption, up to a few days.

This can vary depending on the type of substance and how much was used.

The rate at which hair and nails grow means that both hair drug testing and nail drug testing can provide a ‘wide-window’ of detection for drugs and their metabolites (up to 12 months).

Where can I buy a drug test?

AlphaBiolabs offers two types of home drug tests, designed to give you peace of mind or enable you to seek support for a friend or loved one who is struggling with substance misuse.

• Home Urine Drug Test Kit (£18) – this easy-to-use home drug testing kit can detect drugs and their metabolites in a urine sample. The self-contained screening kit includes built-in test strips, allowing you to read the results in just 5 minutes
• Drug and Alcohol Nail Test (from £99) – this test can detect drug use for a period of up to 12 months prior to samples being collected, with only a sample of fingernail clippings or toenail clippings required. Simply follow the instructions included in your test kit to collect your nail clipping samples and return them to our accredited laboratory for testing

Please be aware that our home drug test kits are for peace of mind only, and the results cannot be used in court. If you require a drug test for official matters, you will need a legally-instructed drug test.

For confidential advice about which test might best suit your needs, you can also call our Customer Services team on 0333 600 1300 or email info@alphabiolabs.com.