Yet the existence of a typical heroin addict in prohibitionist society can still be unpleasant at times. Contemporary opioid drugs, natural and synthetic alike, are flawed. More seriously, when taken in excess, today's opioids can cause respiratory depression . This is a consequence of their stimulation of the mu-2 receptors in medullary respiratory centres of the brain. These problems are exacerbated a thousandfold, however, by the illegal status of narcotics in contemporary society.
Pharmacological education is non-existent, whereas it ought to be part of the core curriculum.
Thus dynorphin activity at the kappa receptors tonically inhibits the release of dopamine from the mesolimbic terminals. If our well-being is to be sustainably enhanced, the balance between the two opposing opioid systems must be shifted. The role of the mu receptors appears to be crucial in another respect. Today, people vary hugely in their sensitivity to pain . This sensitivity is genetically regulated.