Codeine fashionable opioid drugs among rappers

Codeine is a narcotic analgesic medication that is used to treat moderate to intense pain. It is an opioid that derives from opium and is commonly prescribed to treat chronic and acute pain, such as back pain, dental pain and pain after surgery.

Content

• What exactly is Codeine?
• Side effects and contraindications
• Recreational uses of codeine
• The rappers and the codeine
  • Bibliographic references

What exactly is Codeine?

Codeine is a Alcaloid that can be found naturally in opium. That is, unlike other opioids that we have spoken on this website, codeine is not created in a laboratory, but is in opium itself.

This substance acts in the central nervous system to relieve pain by joining opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. It can also produce a sense of euphoria and relaxation, which can lead to improper use and abuse.

It is usual to use it in medicine as analgesic, sedative and antitusigen (as you will see later, it is the presence in the cough syrups that has allowed its abuse in the recreational).

Codeine is assimilated in the liver, and, when metabolized, it becomes morphine. However, due to the low transformation speed that it has, is considered (and is) less powerful and effective as analgesic and sedative than morphine itself.

Side effects and contraindications

Codeine, to the extent that it is a average power analgesic Derived from opium, it can come to generate a dependence similar to that generated by morphine, so its consumption, in principle, should only occur under medical prescription.

Codeine can cause side effects, some of which can be serious and require immediate medical attention. The usual side effects are:

• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Confusion
• Constipation
• Nausea and vomiting
• Sweating
• Skin itch
• Difficulty urinating

The serious side effects that codeine can cause are the following:

• Difficulty breathing or surface breathing
• Slow or irregular heart rate
• Seizures
• Extreme dizziness or fainting
• Loss of consciousness
• Serious allergic reactions, such as swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty swallowing or breathing

Obviously, no opioid (codeine among them) must be consumed along with other depressing substances of the central nervous system, such as antihistamines, anxiolytic, alcohol or different types of anesthetics that exist.

Recreational uses of codeine

Since its effects are very similar to those of opium or oral morphine, the recreational use of codeine has been giving from the moment it was discovered. However, it was in recent times, following what we will see in the following section, that has become more popular and its use has become much more common.

In low doses, codeine barely shows, although it can avoid cough and reduce the feeling of pain (if any).

In average doses it generates certain dizziness and a fairly clear analgesia. At high doses, the effect is basically the same as with morphine, only with a proportion difference of more or less 10% in dose and weight.

The effects occur from half an hour of having ingested the drug and remain active for about four hours, to go through gradually as it falls into a state of sleep.

It is this state of sleep the most dangerous, because a picture of Respiratory depression While sleeping (in fact, it is the most common cause of death when consuming codeine).

As with other opiates, the consumption of a high dose of codeine, at first, is not pleasant for someone who is not accustomed to this drug family. However, repetition generates a positive assessment of the effects received, which, Linked to the dependence it generates, it can lead to strong addiction.

The rappers and the codeine

Let's talk about the rappers now, since we have mentioned them in the title. For just over a decade, it has been common to see many rappers in southern US consuming a drink called Syrup (syrup).

This syrup was mixed by certain soda drinks with cough syrup containing codeine. And since its effects began to be observed, it became an element of the southern rap culture.

Naturally, as the rap of the southern US has been growing and becoming more popular, more has become more Popular Syrup consumption, both within the US themselves, and outside their borders (although getting those codeine syrups outside the US was much more complicated).

As an example of regular consumers we can mention Lil Wayne (a more famous rapper a few years ago) or 21 Savage (more popular today). We can also talk about PIMP C, which was found dead in 2007 due to a high codeine shot, which produced a hypersomnia syndrome.

As you can see, the codeine It is not one more drug. It is an especially powerful and that can have really harmful effects for those who consume it. That is why it is convenient to be very careful, know her, and know how to consume it.

Bibliographic references

• Velázquez, a., & Carbajal, D. (2017). Basic and clinical pharmacology. Mexico: McGraw-Hill Education.
• Lynch, m. AND., & Campbell, F. (2019). The Safety and Efficacy of Codeine-Contair Analgesics in Children: A Systematic Review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 57 (4), 790-799.
• López-Muñoz, f., & Álamo, C. (2018). Pharmacology and therapy manual. Madrid: Panamerican Medical.
• Devane, c. L., & Liston, H. L. (2018). Pharmacokinetics of Codeine and ITS Metabolites in Special Population. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 58 (7), 858-865.
• Katzung, b. G., & Trevor, to. J. (2018). Basic clinical pharmacology. Mexico: McGraw-Hill Education.