Salts, freebase, etc

[red22]

Can anybody explain this to me?

Morphine meconate is a major form of the alkaloid in the poppy, as is morphine pectinate, nitrate and some others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine

Numerous codeine salts have been prepared since the drug was discovered. The most commonly used are the hydrochloride (freebase conversion ratio 0.805), phosphate (0.736), sulphate (0.859), and citrate (0.842). Others include a salicylate NSAID, codeine salicylate (0.686), and at least four codeine-based barbiturates, the cyclohexenylethylbarbiturate (0.559), cyclopentenylallylbarbiturate (0.561), diallylbarbiturate (0.561), and diethylbarbiturate (0.619).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeine

I'm having trouble grasping this. So, there's no one genuine morphine? It exists in various forms?? What's the significance of each form? I'm confused.

 

[fryingsquirrel]

Morphine (and MANY other drugs) can either be the freebase or one of numerous salts. The affects should differ little depending on which salt, other than the obvious difference in moleculer weight.

 

[red22]

Many people report that opium and poppy preparations last much longer than individual opiates. Could that be because of the combination of different forms?