One final point on the opioids. If one does die taking these drugs, the death is likely to be very peaceful. Morphia is, after all, the goddess of dreams!
To recap, the problems common to all opioids include tolerance, sensitivity and the existence of an effective and fast-acting antidote. These issues make the use of the commonest opioids (eg morphine, heroin and methadone) less desirable that they may first appear. The purity of illegal heroin is also an issue of concern. The growing availability of the potent synthetics provides some new and effective options. Although, again, the question of purity of illegal fentanyl analogues is a problem.
The Exit RP Test for Opioids
The opioids range widely on the RP Test. When used as a drug and taken as a single dose by a person wanting to die, the difficulty of establishing the lethal dose of the slower opioids significantly reduces Reliability (Morphine 4/10, Fentanyl 8/10). Peacefulness, however, is very good (9-10/10).
Minor criteria scores are varied. Availability (3/5), sometimes morphine or fentanyl is readily available – eg if a person is suffering from a recognised painful disease. But the use of the opiates as drugs of addiction, and their place in the illegal narcotic trade, can also make them very difficult to obtain. Purity is always an issue with the illegal street opioids. Preparation is easy (5/5), although constricted ‘pinpoint’ pupils will often alert a medical officer to the presence of the slower opioids in the system (Undetectability = 2/5, 4/5 for Fentanyl).
