What Are The Differences Between Illicit Opioids And Prescription Opioids?

0:00What are the differences between illicit opioids and prescription opioids?

0:07I'm going to tell you.

0:08I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky.

0:10I'm also the medical director of Adore Center for Healing, and today we're going to talk

0:15about the differences between illicit or illegal opioids and prescription opioids.

0:23The illicit opioids are the ones you buy in the street.

0:26They're the ones that are not available by prescription.

0:28They're the ones that are manufactured somewhere in some factory overseas or some drug compounds

0:39in a foreign country and is typically smuggled into this country across the border.

0:45These include heroin, and nowadays they have the synthetic ones.

0:49They have the fentanyl as well that comes over.

0:52Also things like xylosine comes over, and the 7-OH version of kratom also comes over

0:59from overseas, imported.

1:01These are very strong opioids.

1:04They're highly addictive, and they are dangerous.

1:09Now prescription opioids are the ones that are produced by pharmaceutical companies in

1:15actual pharmaceutical factories following actual manufacturing guidelines that are

1:22very strict regarding safety and potency and accuracy of dosing.

1:28These are things that are regulated highly by the government and are subject to many

1:33extensive inspections.

1:36These include things like codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and also fentanyl when it's used

1:44in surgical and chronic pain applications.

1:49Now big differences here, the first big difference here really is where does it come from?

1:56Is it manufactured by an actual company that follows very strict guidelines and strict

2:03manufacturing requirements, or is it created in some back alley in some factory overseas

2:12or some compound?

2:14That's your first big difference is the quality of the source.

2:18The ones that come from a pharmaceutical company are going to be more pure.

2:24They're going to be refined.

2:25They're going to be given in precise doses.

2:29You know what you're getting.

2:30You don't have contamination.

2:32It is in that respect to some extent safer.

2:36Again, these are intended for medicinal purposes, so they do need to be safe, and they are subject

2:42to federal regulations.

2:44The ones that are coming from overseas that are for recreational purposes that are produced

2:49illegally do not follow any of these safety guidelines.

2:54You really don't know the potency.

2:57They might tell you what it is, but you have no convenient way of proving that.

3:03You would need to take it to a laboratory and have a chemist be able to determine what

3:08the potency is, and that's often not practical or readily available.

3:13You also have issues with contamination.

3:15There's all sorts of contaminants from the manufacturing process that they have.

3:20They have no guidelines.

3:22They have no laws that they follow.

3:23These are all illegal laboratories that produce this, the illegal compounds, and they have

3:28all sorts of extra ingredients that they use to manufacture these drugs that were maybe

3:35not removed properly.

3:37Extra ingredients, also things that they're cut with.

3:39You don't know what they're cut with, so you don't know the potency.

3:42You don't know if there's a contaminant.

3:44You don't know if there's another drug mixed in there that's used to cut the original drug

3:49just to make it stronger, to make it more addictive.

3:52You really don't know.

3:53You also have issues beyond just the chemical contamination.

3:57You have biological contamination.

3:59The ones that are done in overseas laboratories, they don't follow any safety guidelines.

4:06You can have bacterial contamination.

4:09You can have fungus, yeast, all sorts of viruses can be in there.

4:13You don't know what's in there.

4:14It can be very dangerous from the most basic biological perspective.

4:19You can develop a serious infection.

4:21And a lot of people, especially when they inject these illicit drugs, often end up getting

4:27infections in their heart, on their heart valves, because the process of using the drugs

4:34is often not sterile, but even the drugs themselves, I mean, they're dirty.

4:37These are literally dirty.

4:39They might even have actual dirt in them compared to a pharmaceutical product produced by a

4:46pharmaceutical company is going to be produced under sterile conditions.

4:50It's going to be clean.

4:51It's going to be sterile, completely different safety profile from the biological perspective.

4:57So these are key differences.

4:59Now using either of them, whether it be the illicit drugs or the pharmaceutical grade

5:06opioids, you know, either one, if you use it excessively, if you try to get high on

5:11it, they can both get you addicted, hands down, you know, that you can both, you know,

5:16equally addicted to either one if you misuse it.

5:19Now using the illicit ones, it is even more dangerous because you could have an accidental

5:24overdose.

5:25It can be much stronger than you thought it was.

5:28You might have a severe allergic reaction based on what it's cut with.

5:32You might be reacting to something that is cut with.

5:35You might not be allergic to the drug, but you might be allergic to what it's cut with

5:39and you can have a severe reaction, especially if you inject it, it might get an infection

5:44from it.

5:45You might have other drugs mixed in there that can cause you to overdose or can harm

5:48you in some other way.

5:49So the illicitly obtained drugs are definitely much, much more dangerous and definitely cause

5:55much more problems, much more death, much more injury, much more illness.

6:00So I don't recommend using, you know, any drugs to get high, don't recommend any addictive

6:05behavior, but certainly the illicitly obtained drugs, the illicitly obtained opiates are

6:10definitely much worse and much more dangerous in every respect.

6:14I hope you find this helpful.

6:17If you are having issues with either the illicit drugs, the illicit opiates or the prescription

6:23opioids, please seek help.

6:25You can find help here on Healing Sky.

6:27If you would like to receive your help from me, you can find me at delraycenter.com.

6:33Also please like, follow, subscribe to my content here on Healing Sky and look for my

6:37podcast launching in the fall of 2026.

6:42Thank you.