What’s the Difference Between Opioids and Opiates?
An opiate is an opioid, but an opioid is not always an opiate.
That’s because opioids and opiates differ primarily in their origins. The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)—specifically, the milky latex found in its unripe seed capsule—is the source of opiates, which include such drugs as opium, morphine, and codeine. That means opiates have natural origins. The class of drugs known as opioids includes opiates, which means that some opioids have natural origins too. But some opioids are manufactured, which means they may be chemically altered versions of natural opiates (semisynthetic) or they may be entirely human-made (synthetic). Examples of this type of opioid are oxycodone, fentanyl, and hydrocodone.
There is little difference between opioids and opiates in terms of the fundamentals of what they do: they act on molecules known as opioid receptors in the brain. These receptors are responsible for controlling access to the neural pathways that play a role in controlling pain and mood, and they also mediate the reward pathways in the nervous system that generate feelings of pleasure. In a medical context, opioids are used to reduce pain, which makes them analgesics.
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Although opioids and opiates do not differ in their basic functions, they can differ profoundly in their effects. Synthetic opioids are often designed to be more potent than opiates. While synthetic opioids serve important roles in pain management, the risk of misuse is significant: their powerful ability to block pain and generate feelings of euphoria are key factors that make them highly addictive. This type of opioid has been at the center of the worst drug crisis in U.S. history, which began in the 1990s, killing more than a million people by 2021 and devastating rural communities in particular.