Morphine
is the principal constituent of opium and can
range in concentration from 4 to 21 percent. Commercial
opium is standardized to contain 10-percent morphine.
In the United States, a small percentage of the
morphine obtained from opium is used directly
(about 15 tons): the remaining is converted to
codeine and other derivatives (about 120 tons).
Morphine is one of the most effective drugs known
for the relief of severe pain and remains the
standard against which new analgesics are measured.
Like most narcotics, the use of morphine has increased
significantly in recent years. Since 1990, there
has been about a 3-fold increase in morphine products
in the United States.
Morphine is marketed under generic and brand
name products including "MS-Contin®,"
Oramorph SR®," MSIR®," Roxanol®,"
Kadian®," and RMS®." Morphine
is used parenterally (by injection) for preoperative
sedation, as a supplement to anesthesia, and for
analgesia. It is the drug of choice for relieving
pain of myocardial infarction and for its cardiovascular
effects in the treatment of acute pulmonary edema.
Traditionally; morphine was almost exclusively
used by injection. Today, morphine is marketed
in a variety of forms, including oral solutions,
immediate and sustained-release tablets and capsules,
suppositories, and injectable preparations. In
addition, the availability of high-concentration
morphine preparations (i.e., 20-mg/ml oral solutions,
25-mg/ml injectable solutions, and 200-mg sustained-release
tablets) partially reflects the use of this substance
for chronic pain management in opiate-tolerant
patients.
Source: DEA
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