An opioid is a type of substance primarily used for pain relief purposes,

as it binds to a person's opioid receptors,

triggering an often pleasurable pain-dimming effect.

The term opioid comes from the older term, opiate, which itself is derived from the plant,

the opium poppy, which produces a type of latex that when refined into a resin can produce morphine.

There are a bunch of natural opioids, including morphine,

but this term also applies to synthetic substances that act on the same receptors, often with amplified

outcomes compared to their natural equivalents. The ones we can make in laboratories tend to be a lot

more refined and focused and therefore potent than their natural

peers. Some synthetic opioids like codeine are included in drugs like cough syrup, while other

opioids require prescriptions. And the former, weaker variants are typically capable of reducing

mild amounts of pain or helping with coughs, though some earlier

studies showing that these opioids were solid cough suppressants have not replicated in more

modern studies, so the jury is still out on that use case.

While the latter, more potent opioids, are optimized to target medium and higher grade pain,

like that experienced by chronic pain sufferers, or the sort of pain you might have after suffering burns or surgery.

Even milder opioids are being kept behind the counter and only available for limited sale at times, and in some cases, the sales are even tracked by the government because of the side effects inherent in this category of drug.

One major side effect, and arguably the most pressing one, is that opioids can be highly addictive,

users of any amount potentially developing a physical dependence on the drug because of our body's tendency to develop a tolerance

to its effects.

So you might be given a prescription for a low dose of an opioid painkiller to help you

deal with back pain after a car accident, but after not too long, that same dose doesn't

...