What Kind of Drug Is It?

Meperidine (meh-PER-ih-deen) is best known by its brand name, Demerol. It is a synthetic opioid, meaning that it is a drug created by chemists to imitate certain medicinal qualities of opium, a drug made from flowers called opium poppies. Opioids are NARCOTIC drugs that cause drowsiness and mood changes by interacting with the nerve cells in a person's brain. They can cause physical addiction with extended use. Physical addiction occurs when the body becomes dependent on a particular chemical substance or a combination of chemicals.

Opioids are controlled substances. This means they are available only with a doctor's prescription. Meperidine is a narcotic analgesic, or pain reliever. It is most commonly used in hospitals for patients who have just had surgery.

An analgesic is any chemical substance that has the ability to control or relieve pain. Many familiar analgesics, including acetaminophen (Tylenol...