This video explores the history and development of opioids, detailing their medical use and the factors contributing to their addictive nature. It explains how opioids interact with the brain's receptors, leading to addiction, and discusses the role of pharmaceutical companies in the opioid crisis.

Pause here if you'd like to read more. Answer in 3, Answer in 2, Answer in 1, Answer in 0. Both induce pleasure and reduce pain. Though opium has remained in use ever since, it wasn't until the 19th century that one of its chemical compounds, morphine, was identified and isolated for medical use. Morphine, codeine, and other substances made directly from the poppy are called opiates. In the 20th century, drug companies created a slew of synthetic substances similar to these opiates, including heroin, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and fentanyl. Whether synthetic or derived from opium, these compounds are collectively known as opioids. Synthetic or natural, legal or illicit, opioid drugs are very effective painkillers, but they are also highly addictive. In the 1980s and 90s, pharmaceutical companies began to market opioid painkillers aggressively, actively downplaying their addictive potential to both the medical community and the public. The number of opioid painkiller prescriptions skyrocketed, and so did cases of opioid addiction, beginning a crisis that continues today. To understand why opioids are so addictive, it helps to trace how these drugs affect the human body—from the first dose, through repeated use, to what happens when long-term use stops. Each of these drugs has slightly different chemistry, but all act on the body's opioid system by binding to opioid receptors in the brain. The body's endorphins temper pain signals by binding to these receptors, and opioid drugs bind much more strongly for longer. So opioid drugs can manage much more severe pain than endorphins can. Opioid receptors also influence everything from mood to normal bodily functions. With these functions, too, opioids' binding strength and durability mean their effects are more pronounced and widespread than those of the body's natural signaling molecules. When a drug binds to opioid receptors, it triggers the release of dopamine, which is linked to feelings of pleasure and may be responsible for the sense of euphoria that characterizes an opioid high. At the same time, opioids suppress the release of noradrenaline, which influences wakefulness.