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| Morphine is a highly potent opiate analgesic drug, is the principal active agent in opium, and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. Morphine was in 1803 the first alkaloid isolated from a plant source[citation needed]. Like other opioids, e.g. oxycodone, hydromorphone, and diacetylmorphine (heroin), morphine acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to relieve pain, particularly at the synapses of the nucleus accumbens. Morphine has a high potential for addiction; tolerance and both physical and psychological dependence develop rapidly.
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