Prescription Abuse Statistics

As with many prescription medications, finding the correct dosage takes experimentation and time. Even if a person is under a physician’s care, it takes diligence to ensure that a person does not cross the line from medically necessary treatment to abuse. When reporting use and abuse findings about morphine, these statistics usually reflect the larger category of all prescribed medications. Some of the statistics are alarming:

• The increase of people who use prescribed pain relievers, including morphine, is on the rise. In 2006, over 5 million people were using prescribed pain relievers; an increase of half a million from the previous years. If predictive statistics hold the trend, this number of users is expected to increase significantly.
• While the rate of teen users has slightly decreased over the years, of the teen users who are using prescribed medications that are NOT prescribed for them, almost 60 percent indicate that they obtained the drugs from friends or from an unknowing relative.
• About twice as much is spent on medical and worker compensation claims for employed drug abusers versus their drug-free colleagues.
• While not restricted to just morphine abuse, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that as many as 22 percent of car crashes involved drivers who have been using drugs.

Morphine Specific Abuse Statistics

While prescription medications have startling abuse statistics, the following statistics are directly connected to morphine addiction:

• The increase of emergency room visits due to heroin has increased as much as 15 percent.
• Morphine was ranked as the number 3 cause for emergency room admissions; the first was alcohol and drug combination, followed by cocaine abuse.
• Persons who were injecting opiates averaged 14 years of use before entering treatment for the first time.

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), about 17 percent of Americans age 60 and older misuse prescription drugs, alcohol or both. With morphine being considered the standard for treatment of severe pain, it is one of the many pharmaceutical products that seniors are addicted to. With the senior population accounting for more than 14 percent of our total population, the impact of elderly drug addiction has implications in every part of our lives. As far back as 1969, health problems related to substance abuse cost Medicare alone well over $233 million per year; with that segment of the population increasing steadily, the expenditures are even more significant today.

Morphine and the Senior Population

There are many situational and emotional variables that could lead any person to abuse prescription medications. It has been proven that stress significantly increases the risk of drug abuse. It has also been proven that previous drug use in their younger life is a clear indicator for drug abuse in their senior years. For the elderly, some of these stressors include:

• Aging and retirement
• Depression and loneliness associated with the loss of loved ones and acquaintances
• Confusion and anxiety associated with not feeling a sense of purpose in life
• Chronic pain

Causes of Morphine Abuse

While each individual case of senior drug addiction is unique, there are some trends or indicators for the group as a whole, including:

• Incorrectly following the instructions on the medication bottle, either because they do not fully understand the instructions or because the prescribed dosage is not offering the results they want
• Mixing medications or forgetting to take medicines
• Striving to appear independent and thus not asking for assistance

Identifying Morphine Abuse in the Elderly

Family members and physicians often struggle with identifying prescription drug abuse in seniors. Many times, seniors will hide their abuse by visiting several different doctors and not fully informing the doctors of their current prescription intake. If they are successful in acquiring multiple prescriptions from different sources, the senior may send different family members to retrieve the medication and reduce the chance that any one family member has a complete picture of the drug use.

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Identifying someone with a prescription drug addiction, including morphine, is difficult to do, especially if the person is a family member or friend. However, it is possible and we can help. Please call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about Morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

The most notable derivative of morphine is heroin which was synthesized from morphine in the 1870s. Since Bayer first brought heroin to the market in the 1890s, substantial pharmaceutical research has ensued. Prior to the introduction of heroin, morphine had been the mostly commonly abused narcotic analgesic in the world.

Morphine Uses

While initially thought to treat opium and alcohol addiction, it was later discovered that morphine was actually more addictive than either opium or alcohol. Even with its addictive and tolerance characteristics, morphine continues to be a component of, or a foundation of, many current pharmaceutical products from A (Avinza) to Z (Zomorph).

In 1930, János Kábay, a chemist determined a method for deriving morphine from poppy straw, thus increasing its availability and use. Today, more than 230 tons of morphine is used each year for medical purposes including pain relief for patients with chronic pain or advanced medical illness and post-operative analgesia.

Morphine Addiction in the 1930s

Morphine’s use during the Civil War and World War II has been widely documented. During the Civil War, over 400,000 people presented with morphine addiction that was referred to as “soldier’s disease.” During World War II with the invention of the syrette, medics administered morphine to alleviate pain. A notable precaution on the part of the medics was to pin the syrette to the casualty’s collar to prevent overdose.

While morphine was accepted as the standard against which all new medications for postoperative pain relief are compared, many people were abusing the drug. One of the most noted instances of abuse during that period was when Sigmund Freud’s physician administered three doses of morphine over many hours that resulted in his death in 1939.

In the 1930s, the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) took responsibility for drug policy enforcement. The FBN spearheaded anti-drug crusades to criminalize narcotics possession. In 1951, the Boggs Act imposed a mandatory minimum two-year sentence for possession. The Narcotic Control Act of 1956 raised the minimum sentence for a third offense to 10 to 40 years and permitted death sentences for drug sellers who dealt to minors.

Side Effects of Morphine Use

Most side effects associated with monitored morphine use are mild and often require no treatment, including:

• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Constipation
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sweating

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

Common Uses of Morphine

While morphine was initially used as a cure for opium addiction, it was scientifically proven not to be an effective method of treatment. However, it was and still is used for severe pain, cough suppression and sometimes before surgery. In addition to relieving pain, morphine has been prescribed to relieve fear and anxiety by producing a sense of euphoria.

Failure to Read the Signs of Morphine Abuse

Unfortunately, the signs of morphine abuse are “vague” enough to be associated with other, less threatening conditions. Sweating, chills, dizziness and drowsiness are often attributed to the flu. Rash, hives and itching are initially investigated for contact dermatitis or some allergy. Constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps, nausea, fluid retention and dry mouth are associated with stomach or digestive issues. Stress can also explain other symptoms such as light-headedness, tingling sensations, headaches, fluctuation in blood pressure and insomnia.

Physical Signs of Morphine Abuse

However, if a person experiences any of the following symptoms, morphine abuse may be the reason:

• Blurred vision, double vision, involuntary movement of the eyeball or “pinpoint” pupils
• Slurred speech, fainting/faintness or uncoordinated muscle movements
• Tremors or seizures
• Needle marks (if injecting drugs)
• Memory loss

Behavioral Signs of Morphine Abuse

Because the physical indicators of morphine abuse are sometimes hard to identify, physicians often look for some of the following behavioral signs:

• Prescription abuse: needing refills too often for alleged lost or stolen prescription
• Multiple providers: seeking prescriptions from different healthcare providers
• Changes in social behavior with friends, colleagues and family members
• Changes in mood or behaviors, including signs of lying or stealing

Emotional Signs of Morphine Abuse

Emotional indicators of morphine abuse are another “vague” area that may be attributed to another health issue, such as anxiety, depression, irritability and apprehension. However, if a person is demonstrating any of the following emotional signs, you should check for morphine abuse:

• Hallucinations
• Exaggerated sense of well-being
• Abnormal thinking
• Extreme agitation

Get Help for Morphine Abuse

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

Prescription Abuse Statistics

As with many prescription medications, finding the correct dosage takes experimentation and time. Even if a person is under a physician’s care, it takes diligence to ensure that a person does not cross the line from medically necessary treatment to abuse. When reporting use and abuse findings about morphine, these statistics usually reflect the larger category of all prescribed medications. Some of the statistics are alarming:

• The increase of people who use prescribed pain relievers, including morphine, is on the rise. In 2006, over 5 million people were using prescribed pain relievers; an increase of half a million from the previous years. If predictive statistics hold the trend, this number of users is expected to increase significantly.
• While the rate of teen users has slightly decreased over the years, of the teen users who are using prescribed medications that are NOT prescribed for them, almost 60 percent indicate that they obtained the drugs from friends or from an unknowing relative.
• About twice as much is spent on medical and worker compensation claims for employed drug abusers versus their drug-free colleagues.
• While not restricted to just morphine abuse, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that as many as 22 percent of car crashes involved drivers who have been using drugs.

Morphine Specific Abuse Statistics

While prescription medications have startling abuse statistics, the following statistics are directly connected to morphine addiction:

• The increase of emergency room visits due to heroin has increased as much as 15 percent.
• Morphine was ranked as the number 3 cause for emergency room admissions; the first was alcohol and drug combination, followed by cocaine abuse.
• Persons who were injecting opiates averaged 14 years of use before entering treatment for the first time.

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

Used for extreme pain relief, including pre-surgery anesthesia, morphine is also used for severe coughs, shortness of breath and chronic diarrhea.

Side Effects of Morphine Use

Most side effects associated with monitored morphine use are mild and often require no treatment, including:

• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Constipation
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sweating

Indicators of Morphine Addiction

The indicators of morphine addiction don’t always present in physical ways. Rather, it is behavioral and psychological symptoms that suggest morphine addiction. There are two primary causes for morphine addiction: tolerance and craving. Because of its highly addictive nature, the body quickly builds a tolerance to the morphine dosage and thus requires greater and greater amounts of morphine to achieve the desired effect.

Because morphine impacts the brain by presenting a desired state of being, the brain continually seeks or craves the outcome. Craving morphine is the most obvious indicator of addiction. Others include:

• If a person starts to crave morphine.
• Wanting more before their scheduled dose time.
• Wanting more than the amount prescribed.

These cravings along with the desire to maintain or increase the desired affect may lead a person to use more morphine, or add other painkillers, drugs or alcohol. At that point, the person has a morphine addiction and intervention is necessary.

Morphine Withdrawal

Many systems of morphine withdrawal appear to be minor enough for an individual to manage without detoxification or medical supervision, including:

• Restlessness
• Yawning
• Perspiration
• Muscle spasm
• Hot and cold flashes
• Insomnia
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

However, self-detoxification is not recommended as some additional symptoms of morphine withdrawal may include strokes and heart attacks.

Get Help for Morphine Addiction

Recovering from morphine with proper medical supervision and support services is possible. If you or someone you know is addicted to morphine, call our toll free number today at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer any questions you might have about morphine addiction treatment. We are here to help.

How is Morphine Taken?

Morphine can be taken orally in tablet form, and it can also be injected subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously; the last is the route preferred by those who are addicted to morphine. Other signs of morphine addiction include the paraphernalia used to take the drug. Morphine users may have needles, tourniquets, morphine tablets, liquid morphine or crushed up powder.

Morphine Description and Signs of Addiction

Morphine is a potent narcotic opiate with high susceptibility for abuse and addiction. Morphine’s addictive nature activates the brain’s reward systems. The promise of reward is very intense, causing the individual to continually crave more and to focus his or her activities around taking the drug. The ability of morphine to strongly activate the brain’s reward mechanisms and its ability to chemically alter the normal functioning of these systems is what produces addiction. One of the many signs of morphine addiction is that it reduces the user’s level of consciousness, harming their ability to think or be fully aware of present surroundings.

Physical signs of morphine addiction include but are not limited to:

• Reduced sense of pain
• Needle marks (if injecting drugs)
• Slurred speech
• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Involuntary movement of the eyeball
• “Pinpoint” pupils
• Sweating
• Chills
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Fainting

The emotional signs of morphine addiction can include:

• Anxiety
• Depressed or irritable mood
• Exaggerated sense of well-being
• Abnormal thinking
• Agitation
• Apprehension
• Hallucinations

Morphine Addiction Withdrawal

It’s always recommended that an individual who wishes to decrease their usage of any narcotic, do so under medical supervision in a detox facility. As a narcotic, morphine leads to physical dependence. However, physical dependence is not a sign of abuse or addiction; it is a predictable, physical response to chronic use of the narcotic. The body becomes accustomed to physical changes that morphine causes, and stopping the drug will lead to withdrawal symptoms. This is not necessarily a sign of addiction, at least in the sense that most people use the term.

Signs of morphine addiction withdrawal include but are not limited to:

• Restlessness
• Runny nose
• Yawning
• Perspiration
• Goose flesh
• Restless sleep
• Dilated pupils
• Twitching and spasms of muscles
• Kicking movement

Morphine withdrawal symptoms reach peak intensity in 36 to 72 hours. Without treatment, the signs of morphine addiction withdrawal will run their course in five to seven days, even though cravings for morphine may continue for months.

Morphine Addiction Help

If you or someone you know is struggling with a morphine addiction, we can help. Please call our toll free number at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your questions on morphine addiction and treatment. All calls are private and confidential.

Morphine is one of the easier drugs to obtain, so many people will turn to it when they need to escape from reality. Often, a morphine addiction happens accidentally when someone really needs the medication for an ailment they are suffering from. Many celebrities have become addicted to some form of prescription medication to help cope with the stress of being in the limelight.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Morphine

When Jamie Lee Curtis was 35 she began taking prescription medicine after a cosmetic operation on her eyes. From there, she became addicted to prescription painkillers. She wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post that she used the morphine to escape from reality. Fortunately, she was able to escape her addiction. Many celebrities fall so deep in the hole and do not want anyone to find out about it, so they hide it until it eventually kills them. Curtis was able to overcome her addiction.

Michael Jackson

Although Jackson’s death was not solely due to his prescription drug problem, it was definitely prevalent in his life. He began his addiction in 1984 while filming a Pepsi commercial when his hair caught on fire. Jackson was in pain for a while after that and began taking prescription medications. As time went on, it kept getting worse. It began to affect his career; he would be too medicated to perform at times. Before his death, he was said to have been overly medicated.

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger, 28, died January 22 in his apartment from an accidental overdose. He was taking prescription painkillers, anxiety medication as well as sleeping pills. No illegal drugs were found in the apartment, it was all prescription drugs. None of the medications were taken in excess, it was simply the mixing of different prescribed medicines.

More about Morphine

Morphine is in a group of drugs called narcotic pain relievers. It is a potent analgesic drug and the primary active agent is opium. It is used to treat moderate to severe pain. Morphine works by dulling the pain perception center in the brain.

A patient can use short-acting formula morphine on an “as needed” basis for the pain or an extended-release formula when using morphine for around-the-clock patients who are constantly in pain. Often times, your doctor will not prescribe morphine unless your body has already built up a tolerance to other opioid medications because morphine is highly dependent drug.

Morphine can be habit forming, so it is important to only take what is prescribed to you by your doctor so that your body does not build up a tolerance quickly. It is also important to keep it in a safe place away from children and those who have had addiction problems. Morphine is popular for teenagers who want to do drugs because it is easily accessible in their parents’ medicine cabinets. Morphine should be stopped gradually in order to not experience withdrawal symptoms.

Morphine Help

If you or a loved one is addicted to morphine, it is important to seek help. Morphine is a highly dependent drug. Once addicted, the effects are devastating. Many lose their jobs, dreams and ambitions. But, there is hope. If you are interested in receiving information on morphine detox or rehab, please call our toll free number.

And because morphine begins with the letter “m,” Miss Emma or Aunt Emma has become a common slang for morphine due to the “em” sound of the name.

Other slang names for morphine include:

• Mister blue
• Morpho
• Dreamer
• God’s drug

Effects of Morphine on the Mind

Morphine is a painkiller, but as a derivative of the opium poppy, it has many effects on the mind. One particular effect is the absence of pain and sometimes a heightened sense of pleasure.

There are many reasons why morphine is a controlled substance. For one, it has many dangerous side effects. Some of these side effects include:

• The slowing of heartbeat
• Difficulty in breathing
• Severe headache and dizziness
• Seizures
• Convulsions

More about Morphine

Morphine is a naturally occurring substance in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. It is a potent narcotic analgesic, and its primary clinical use is in the management of moderately severe and severe pain. After heroin, morphine has the greatest dependence liability of the narcotic analgesics in common use.

Morphine has had a long history of usage as a painkiller. Since it was first isolated in Germany in 1803, it has been used medically to treat various illnesses, particularly for pain relief and for controlling opium addiction. Today, the drug is available in many generic forms and can be bought from a pharmacist with a prescription. It is also used in hospitals as a means to manage pain.

Morphine is infrequently encountered in the North American street drug culture. However, mainly because of its availability in hospitals, there have been several documented cases of morphine dependence among health professionals.

The relative availability of morphine has made it one of the more commonly abused drugs in some parts of the world. If a user does not get it through illicit means, he or she can take a few tablets from a friend who uses it for medication. It can also be easy for a person to steal a few tablets from a member of his or her household who happens to be taking medicine based on morphine to manage an illness.

Prescribed Morphine

Often when people think about prescribed medication, they assume their physician is knowledgeable about the drug, its side effects, dosage recommendations and contraindications. They also assume that the physician has thoroughly reviewed the patient’s medical condition, other prescribed medication usage and overall ability to tolerate a medication. Under these assumptions, a patient may accept the doctor’s recommendation and prescription without reservation.

While most physicians are extremely effective diagnosticians and professional, knowledgeable, and compassionate caregivers, there is no way that they can be conversant on every prescribed medication that the pharmaceutical industry produces. Therefore, they rely on pharmaceutical guides when selecting and dosing a medication, as well as the experience of their other patients’ results with the medication.

That strategy is effective but not when a person starts abusing the medication by doing one or several of the following:

• Increasing the prescribed dosage to get the results they want
• Mixing drugs
• Doctor/pharmacy shopping
• Obtaining the prescription through illegal means

If you or someone you now is presenting any of these behaviors, you need to seek help for this abusive and addictive behavior.

Morphine Addiction Variables

Most often a person is prescribed morphine to treat extreme pain. People, who have experienced this pain because of an event that might cause the pain to persist for a relatively short period of time, should give consideration to weaning from the prescribed medication almost from the onset of its usage. Realizing that the patient’s focus is exclusively on relieving the pain, this is when a family member or a friend can play a key role.

Making sure that the person is only taking the prescribed amount is key in helping that person eventually wean off the medication. Pain is not just a physical condition; it also brings about emotional, psychological and mental concerns. Being aware of all aspects of the patient’s state of being is also very helpful because you can seek assistance to treat these other conditions that are often associated with pain.

Addiction to morphine occurs primarily because of tolerance or physical dependency. By monitoring the morphine consumption, you can assist the patient not to become tolerant. If you notice that the prescribed dosage is not giving the person the same benefit it once did, seek professional help from the physician to determine if there is a solution other than increasing the dosage.

Physical dependency most often occurs if a person is taken off the medication too quickly, which is why a weaning process is recommended.

While scientists and medical professionals hold morphine as the standard for the effective relief of pain, the patient and her/his support system need to be diligent so that morphine addiction can be avoided.

Morphine Help

If you or someone you know has access to morphine and is abusing it beyond the medically prescribed reason, please contact our toll free number at (877) 259-5633. We are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions on morphine addiction and treatment.

History of Morphine (Opium Poppy)

Morphine was discovered by Freidrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner (1783-1841), an obscure, uneducated, 21-year-old pharmacist’s assistant with little equipment but loads of curiosity.

Serturner wondered about the medicinal properties of opium, which was widely used by 18th-century physicians. In a series of experiments, performed in his spare time and published in 1806, he managed to isolate an organic alkaloid compound from the resinous gum secreted by the opium poppy.

Serturner found that opium with the alkaloid removed had no effect on animals, but the alkaloid itself had 10 times the power of processed opium. He named that substance morphine, after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, for its tendency to cause sleep.

He spent several years experimenting with morphine, often on himself, learning its therapeutic effects as well as its considerable dangers. Although his work was initially ignored, he recognized its significance, and as he predicted, chemists and physicians soon grew interested in his discoveries. Serturner’s crystallization of morphine was the first isolation of a natural plant alkaloid. It sparked the study of alkaloid chemistry and hastened the emergence of the modern pharmaceutical industry.

Morphine as Pain Relief

In 1818, French physician Francois Magendie published a paper that described how morphine brought pain relief and much-needed sleep to an ailing young girl. This stimulated widespread medical interest. By the mid-1820s morphine was widely available in Western Europe in standardized doses from several sources, including the Darmstadt chemical company started by Heinrich Emanuel Merck.

In 1853, the hypodermic needle was developed and the use of morphine became more widespread. From its earliest application, it was used as a form of pain relief and that is still how it is meant to be used today. Since then, various delivery systems for morphine have been developed, including epidural injection and pumps that allow patient-controlled analgesia.

Although morphine was originally touted as a cure for many maladies, even for alcohol and opium addiction, by the 1870s physicians had become increasingly aware of its own addictive properties. Many new pain relievers have been synthesized since the crystallization of morphine from opium almost 200 years ago. “Morphine remains the standard against which all new medications for postoperative pain relief are compared,” notes Jonathan Moss, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago.

Morphine in America

In December 1914, the United States Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Act which called for control of each phase of the preparation and distribution of medicinal opium, morphine, heroin, cocaine, and any new derivative that could be shown to have similar properties. It made illegal the possession of these controlled substances. The restrictions in the Harrison Act were most recently redefined by the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The act lists opium and its derivatives and all parts of the plant except the seed as a Schedule II Controlled Substance.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says morphine is the standard against which other analgesics are measured. As with many other narcotic pain relievers, the increase of morphine use in the United States has increased dramatically in the last several years. According to the DEA, there has been a three-fold increase in the number of morphine products available in the U.S. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says many opiates, including morphine, can cause physical and psychological addiction with prolonged use. Users may also develop a tolerance to pain medication, causing them to take more and more to achieve the same effect.

Morphine Help

If you or someone you know has become addicted to the pain relief powers of morphine please contact our toll free number at (877) 259-5633. We can also help with information you may need on symptoms and effects of morphine use.