Abstract This paper discusses that many physicians considered opium to be perhaps the best natural pain reliever ever discovered. The paper states that Australia and France are sanctioned by the United Nations to grow opium poppies legally for the production and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. The author believes by employing new methods of biosynthesis to produce genetically altered plants, researchers hope to grow morphine-free opium poppies, ensuring a stable supply of codeine. This paper is complete with pictures and graphes of the chemical structure.
From the Paper "Papaver somniferum has been used medicinally for centuries for its ability to produce a number of opiates that act as analgesics. The earliest recorded history of opium cultivation is approximately 3400 B.C., in lower Mesopotamia. The tradition of opium cultivation for medicinal purposes was carried on from the Sumerians, to the Assyrians, to the Babylonians, to the Egyptians, and so on to present day. Cultural references to the use of the opium poppy can be found in literary and medical texts, for instance the use of opium can be found in Homer's Iliad (850 B.C.) and with in the Hippocratic Corpus (460 B.C.)".
Abstract This paper attempts to persuade the user that the drawbacks of the marijuana-use experience are similar to those of other drugs, namely codeine, but that its benefits far outweigh its alleged addictiveness. The author reviews the current state of medical marijuana research and the legal and social implications of prescribing marijuana. The paper persuades the reader that marijuana is a useful substance in the medical sense and that the fears of drug-enforcement officials that this constitutes a move toward 'legalization' are unfounded.
