4 Table 1. Statistics for 1995. United Nations, 1997. The dominant feature in the use of morphine since the second half of the 1980s has been the continuous increase in the quantities used for the treatment of pain. Although codeine is a natural alkaloid obtained from opium and poppy straw, most codeine is manufactured by semisynthesis.
Codeine represents the bulk of the licit opiate consumption.
It is used mainly as an analgesic or cough suppressant. During the past two decades, global codeine consumption has fluctuated at around 160 tonnes per year. Methadone Methadone is a synthetic opioid chemically different from, but with broadly similar pharmacological qualities to, morphine. Due to its effective analgesic activity and long duration of action after oral administration, methadone is particularly useful in chronic painful conditions because it can prevent or relieve acute withdrawal symptoms produced by morphine-like drugs. It is also used in the detoxification treatment of patients dependent upon these agents as well as in maintenance programmes for individuals dependent on diamorphine or other opioids.