What are opiates?

Opiates are a group of drugs that are used for treating pain. They are derived from opium which comes from the poppy plant. Opiates go by a variety of names including opiates, opioids, and narcotics. The term opiates is sometimes used for close relatives of opium such as codeine, morphine and heroin, while the term opioids is used for the entire class of drugs including synthetic opiates such as Oxycontin. But the most commonly used term is opiates.

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