What Are Opioids?

0:00What are opioids?

0:03I'm going to tell you.

0:04I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky.

0:06I'm also the medical director of the Del Rey Center for Healing.

0:10And today we're going to talk about what exactly are opioids.

0:15Opioids refer to compounds and substances that are both naturally occurring and synthetic.

0:21You can see these in nature coming from the classic, the poppy seeds, and there you can

0:27derive substances such as codeine, and these can be modified chemically to create things

0:33such as heroin and morphine.

0:35You have really synthetic ones that are purely synthetic and have no natural origin, such

0:40as fentanyl, and these all share one thing in common.

0:45They act on the opioid receptors in the brain.

0:49And they have effects on the brain that are most noteworthy for relieving pain, which

0:55is the main medical reason why they're used and why they have been part of the medical

0:59system for so many years.

1:01They are incredibly useful, if not necessary, when somebody is undergoing surgery or they

1:06have a major injury.

1:07However, taken in higher doses, these compounds can create euphoria.

1:12They can create a high that is above and beyond just pain relief.

1:18And that is the reason why they have become substances that often get abused and lead

1:24to addiction.

1:26This can happen, again, with the naturally occurring ones, as well as the synthetic ones.

1:31There are different degrees of danger and potency with all of these.

1:34Some of the newer ones, such as the synthetic fentanyl and the norfentanyl, are the ones

1:40that are extremely potent, have an extremely high overdose risk, and have led to the current

1:46epidemic with opioids.

1:48They are being imported from other countries.

1:50They are highly potent.

1:52They are often contaminated and they lead to thousands upon thousands of people dying

1:58from overdoses.

2:00Even the naturally occurring ones are dangerous in overdose, so you don't want to take too

2:03much of either of these.

2:05Really, you want to take these only if they are prescribed by a physician for a legitimate

2:10medical reason.

2:11Otherwise, you can develop opioid addiction and you risk injuring your body or overdosing

2:17and dying.

2:19So those are the opioids, and again, common ones that we see day to day are oxycodone,

2:27you know, codeine.

2:29You see them in brand names such as Percocet or Vicodin.

2:33You also see the fentanyl, which actually is used legitimately in more severe pain scenarios

2:40such as surgery, but it is also available on the street as illicit fentanyl, which is

2:45very dangerous.

2:46And then you have other derivatives such as norefentanyl, which is extremely dangerous.

2:51Very high overdose risk.

2:52There's lots of other opioids like Dilaudid as well.

2:55These have been on the market for a long time and are used both legitimately and also illicitly

3:02for people to get high.

3:04When they're used illicitly, again, these are very dangerous.

3:06It's a very high risk of overdose and I strongly discourage ever doing that.

3:12If you have been using them illicitly, please get help because this is a dangerous behavior.

3:17I hope you find this information helpful.

3:20Please like, follow, and subscribe to my content here on Healing Sky.

3:25If you would like to see me as a client, you can reach me at delraycenter.com.

3:30Please look for my podcast launching in the fall of 2026.

3:33Thank you.