How does an Opiate drug work?
Brain cells have chemical receptors that react when an opiate drug is present in your body. This reaction causes a change in the activity of the brain cell – and relief from the feeling of pain results.

“I’ll never forget the first time I used oxy’s. It felt warm - like a hug from the inside.

It got so I wanted that feeling all the time. It was so easy to feel well. Nothing much bothered me.

But I found that I had to keep taking more and more pills. I started to take one before I even got out of bed in the morning.

When I finally tried to stop, I couldn’t. I had no idea what it would be like. It seemed the pain was everywhere.

Everything that I thought or felt told me to take just a few more.”

When one first takes an opiate drug, euphoria - or a feeling of intense well being may also occur. It is this feeling that fuels the abuse of opiate drugs.