Pentazocine
There were no legal restrictions on the importation or use of
opium until the early 1900s. In the United States, the
unrestricted availability of opium, the influx of opium-smoking
immigrants from East Asia, and the invention of the hypodermic
needle contributed to the more severe variety of compulsive drug
abuse seen at the turn of the 20th century. In those days,
medicines often contained opium without any warning label.
Today, there are state, federal, and international laws
governing the production and distribution of narcotic
substances.
Although opium is used in the form of paragoric to treat
diarrhea, most opium imported into the United States is broken
down into its alkaloid constituents. These alkaloids are divided
into two distinct chemical classes, phenanthrenes and
isoquinolines. The principal phenanthrenes are morphine,
codeine, and thebaine, while the isoquinolines have no
significant central nervous system effects and are not regulated
under the CSA.
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