Heroin, opium, morphine, and codeine are the natural opioids. This work presents the history of opium production and use, and its role in political history. It shows the opioids' effects on the body and brain, their long- and short-term side effects, and their dangers.

Heroin, opium, morphine, and codeine - are the natural opioids. In "Heroin and Other Opioids: Poppies' Perilous Children", readers will learn about those substances as well as newer derivatives, all of which can impact lives in serious and negative ways.The author takes readers on a trip through the history of opium production and use, and its role in political history. Readers will discover that opiates were popular patent medicines, the primary ingredients of such "medicines" as Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, Hamlin's Wizard Oil, and other "cures for what ails you."Heroin and opiates didn't just go away when their use was outlawed. Instead, they became part of a large illegal narcotics market. Legal derivatives were produced and marketed as effective treatments for pain and other conditions. In "Heroin and Other Opioids: Poppies' Perilous Children", learn about the opioids' effects on the body and brain, their long- and short-term side effects, and their dangers. First-person accounts tell the story of what it's really like to be dependent on and addicted to opiates, as well as the struggle to achieve a sober lifestyle. These stories also show that it can be done.