opioids

Noun

opioid (plural opioids)

1. Any of the natural substances, such as an endorphin, released in the body in response to pain; an endogenous opioid.
   • Mechoulam concluded that our bodies must produce their own cannabinoids — endogenous molecules that, like the native opioids and nicotinelike molecules our bodies also make, engage the cannabinoid receptors throughout the human body.2019 May 14, Moises Velasquez-Manoff, “Can CBD Really Do All That?”, in The New York Times Magazine
2. Any of a group of synthetic compounds that exhibit similarities to the opium alkaloids that occur in nature.
   • The number of young children in the US who have died from opioid overdoses has increased significantly, according to a new study on accidental poisonings of children 5 and younger.2023 March 8, Jen Christensen, “Young children are increasingly victims of opioid epidemic, study finds”, in CNN