(related terms: narcotic, opiod...)

Opiates (opium, morphine, heroin, hydracodone, codine,...) are natural or synthetic chemical substances that bind to opiod receptor sites in the brain blocking pain and inducing euphoria.

Opiates are narcotics originating from the Greek word "narkos", narcotics are numbing or sleeping agents. You may find that some people loosely use "narcotic" to describe a wider range of addictive psychotropic or controlled substances.

The use and abuse of opiate/narcotics can lead to addiction, a chronic disease of the brain. The use structurally and functionally changes that brain making it difficult for the addict to stop regardless of the consequences to themselves or others.

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