Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances | Opium - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

When pure opium is used as a drug, it is usually smoked, sometimes in combination with tobacco. It is also eaten. More often, opium is collected and refined into morphine and heroin, because these drugs act on the brain more quickly, and they are easier to inject than opium. Doctors occasionally prescribe paregoric, a liquid combination of opium and camphor, for stomach upset, diarrhea, or irritable bowel syndrome. Paregoric is a liquid that is taken by mouth.