OFFICIAL NAMES: Meperidine, meperidine hydrochloride, Demerol, Pethidine

STREET NAMES: Demmies

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: Schedule II, narcotic

Overview

Meperidine is a synthetic, opioid analgesic. An analgesic is any drug or substance that, when ingested or injected, diminishes or relieves pain. Another word for analgesic is "painkiller." Many different drugs act as analgesics. One method of classifying analgesics is to distinguish between those that require a doctor's prescription and those that do not. Medications obtainable without a doctor's prescription are known as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. OTC analgesics are the most familiar, and include such medications as acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, and ibuprofen (Advil; Midol).

The most effective and widely used prescription analgesics belong to a class of drugs known as opioids. Opioid drugs can be classified as natural, semi-synthetic, or synthetic. Natural opioids are also frequently referred to as opiates. Both terms, opiate and opioid, are derivations of...