In pharmaceuticals, codeine is known as an effective analgesic, therefore, together with components such as analgin, amidopyrine and caffeine, it is a part of drugs for the treatment of neuralgic and other types of pain. It is an opium-containing drug. Codeine is obtained by morphine methylation reaction.
Not so long ago, codeine was considered a completely harmless component of drugs, the main side effect of which was insomnia and increased irritability. The fact that codeine-containing drugs are addictive, for a long time, even doctors were not aware. American doctors were the first to sound the alarm, drawing attention to the fact that patients taking cough syrups, after finishing treatment, complained of irritability, loss of appetite, and digestive problems. Unpleasant symptoms disappeared, it was worth to resume taking the drugs. Of course, addiction to codeine does not occur in one day, but even a couple of weeks is enough to form a dependency. Especially dangerous is the use of codeine for children and adolescents. Recall that the list of codeine-containing drugs includes such fashionable drugs as Nurofen and Solpadein.
Of course, physical dependence on codeine is not as dangerous as psychological. Especially when it comes to taking the drug in therapeutic doses. Such dependence is treatable, although it will take time and money. But it’s much worse when a person starts to take codeine-containing drugs in large doses consciously, trying to get away from problems.
The pronounced effect of taking codeine is excitability, talkativeness, speech disinhibition. In many ways, its effect is similar to cocaine: energy is in full swing, I do not want to sleep at all. The cloudy state of consciousness does not allow us to evaluate reality. Naturally, any life problems recede into the background. Taking shock doses of codeine after several doses is addictive.
Codeine-containing drugs, in fact, are the same drug as all others. The uncontrolled, irregular use of dosage forms containing codeine often leads to deep depressive states. It also adversely affects the body, destroying it from the inside and out. It is rather difficult to get rid of psychological craving for codeine. This requires a long course of rehabilitation. But the biggest danger is that most drug addicts come to heroin and desomorphine through the “wheels” and “weed”. Over time, they need large doses of the drug to forget and disconnect.
The use of codeine-containing drugs for other purposes was not started today. Addicts have long discovered a method for producing desomorphine in artisanal conditions, and it is codeine that serves as its raw material.
According to the chief narcologist of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Bryun, a fourth of all Russian drug addicts take desomorphine. As you know, this substance is very toxic, so the age of the desomorphist is very short. The drug is addictive, often one or two injections are enough. It sounds awful, but to date, desomorphine or, as it is also called, "crocodile" is one of the most affordable drugs. Components for it can be bought at any pharmacy, and manufacturing methods are described in detail on the Internet.
The statistics are very disappointing - for the most part, young people from twenty to thirty years old take desomorphine. It is more difficult to recover from desomorphine addiction than to addiction to heroin.
It was decided to include codeine-containing drugs in the list of prescription drugs. European and American pharmacists have long kept strict records of patients taking painkillers, antidepressants, and codeine-based antitussives. In Russia, a restriction on the sale of codeine-containing drugs has been introduced since June 2012. However, doctors already today express concern that the new legislative acts will not stop the growth of drug addiction, but will create huge problems at work. After all, the list of codeine-containing drugs is quite extensive, and the number of patients who need constant painkillers is very large. The introduction of restrictions on the sale of preparations containing codeine will inevitably lead to queues in outpatient clinics. Given the level of salaries of our doctors, abuse on their part cannot be excluded. But the fact that today any schoolchild can bother society as much as buying a drug containing drugs at a pharmacy.