^loperamide is somewhat structurally related to fentanyl and meperidine and is undeniably an opioid. It *does* cross the BBB however the vast majority of it is exported back across the BBB by P-glycoprotein resulting in negligible CNS effects but prominent GI effects at therapeutic doses. At supratherapeutic doses, or with sufficiently strong P-gp inhibitors, enough can get through the BBB to produce central effects... although they are not nearly as pronounced or euphoric as full agonists that don't have BBB-crossing issues. I don't really have the desire to track down sources for all of this right now, but if you're still interested PM me and I'll find some for you.
I have used high doses to wean off opioids with great effect several times... and by this I mean 80% reduction in w/d symptoms from morphine withdrawal and I probably could've taken higher doses and relieved more but I wanted to be safe.
Also... as far as wikipedia pages for things like pharmaceuticals, its just as accurate as any encyclopedia. They are monitored both regularly and strictly for content and although false/misleading information is posted at times, it doesn't last.
Wikipedia has been tested in accuracy against other common encyclopedias many times and was found as accurate. The difference is there are pages on pop culture shit like songs where people put bullshit up but when it comes to a page like "loperamide" the info is solid... not that I rely on that for information, but it covers basics well.
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Admittedly I haven't read every single post in this thread but I have seen the OP call people addicts and all this over and over here and elsewhere and I want to address that.
First off, if you call someone something like an addict, its not going to go over well whether its real or not. Addiction is a medical issue with a stigma and whether its true or not, how would you feel if people were repeatedly accusing you of having syphilis or something? Its not civil to call people out like this and its not going to go over well... whether you believe you're doing it for their own good or not, it doesn't help.
Next... as I said, addiction is a medical issue and as such it requires a diagnosis by a medical professional to really have any validity and you can't diagnose people at a distance, furthermore you aren't a doctor.
When doctors, drug counselors and other addiction professionals DO diagnose people, they don't call them addicts, they call them substance dependent (which is a bit confusing because it does not mean they necessarily ARE physically dependent and if they are, this alone does not make someone substance dependent, aka an addict).
I have heard that in the DSM-V they are going to change the diagnosis to "addicted" for clarification but for our purposes "addicted" and "substance dependent" are synonymous.
For someone to be diagnosed as substance dependent they have to meet the following requirement (somewhat abridged for concision)-
Criteria for Substance Dependence
A maladaptive pattern of substance use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:
(1) tolerance
(2) Withdrawal
(3) the substance is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended
(4) there is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control substance use
(5) a great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain the substance (e.g., visiting multiple doctors or driving long distances), use the substance (e.g., chain-smoking), or recover from its effects
(6) important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of substance use
(7) the substance use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by the substance (e.g., current cocaine use despite recognition of cocaine-induced depression, or continued drinking despite recognition that an ulcer was made worse by alcohol consumption)
*This is taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel-IV-TR but was taken directly from
this site
4 of these 7 must be present to be eligible for this diagnosis and the fact is, people can be on maintenance medication and not be addicts/physically dependent.
Tolerance and withdrawal are inevitable with drugs like suboxone or methadone but people can and do take stable doses over a longer period or even reduce doses. You don't need to spend a lot of time trying to get and using suboxone (although if people ARE prepping, shooting, thinking about it all day, this is different then taking a pill every am or stopping at a clinic).
Furthermore, many on maintenance are content and don't desire to cut down or try to reduce their doses and fail. People don't need to give up important social, recreational or occupational activities due to sub/'done and these drugs can be taken for years without dangerous physiological effects so people aren't using despite really any risk.
I am NOT saying that no one on maintenance is actively addicted and most who get on maintenance were at some point, but many are on maintenance medication and don't meet these criteria.
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tl,dr: you are doing more harm for your message by calling people addicts whether you are right or wrong and people can successfully maintain and lead healthy lives free of addiction.
