MPPSC 2019 Prelims Q85: Opium is of which category

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2019 Prelims Q85?

A. Correct — A, depressant. Opium and its alkaloids (morphine, codeine — the opioids) are central nervous system depressants: they slow down nerve activity, relieve pain, cause sedation and euphoria, and depress breathing. Medically they are narcotic analgesics; hence opium is classed as a depressant drug.

MPPSC 2019 Prelims Paper-I · Question 85 of 99

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

Opium is of which category medicine?

(a)Depressant
(b)Stimulant
(c)Hallucinogenic
(d)None of the above

Answer

Why

Correct — A, depressant. Opium and its alkaloids (morphine, codeine — the opioids) are central nervous system depressants: they slow down nerve activity, relieve pain, cause sedation and euphoria, and depress breathing. Medically they are narcotic analgesics; hence opium is classed as a depressant drug.

Why the others are wrong

(b)Stimulant — Stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines) speed up the nervous system — the opposite of opium's calming, slowing effect.
(c)Hallucinogenic — Hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline) distort perception and senses; opium's primary action is sedation and pain relief, not hallucination.
(d)None of the above — Wrong — opium has a definite category: it is a depressant (narcotic analgesic).

Concept

Psychoactive drugs are grouped by their effect on the central nervous system: depressants slow it down (opioids, alcohol, barbiturates), stimulants speed it up (caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines), and hallucinogens alter perception (LSD, cannabis in part). Opium, from the poppy Papaver somniferum, is a depressant.

The trap is the word 'medicine' — opium is medicinal (a powerful painkiller), which can mislead. Its pharmacological CATEGORY, based on how it acts on the CNS, is depressant.

Key facts

Opium comes from the latex of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum
Its key alkaloids are morphine and codeine (opioids), used as painkillers
It is a CNS depressant / narcotic analgesic — slows nerve activity, depresses respiration
Depressant vs stimulant vs hallucinogen is the standard drug-classification scheme

Study next

Classification of drugs: depressants, stimulants, hallucinogensOpioids: morphine, codeine, heroin and their medical usesThe opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) as a source plantDrug abuse, addiction and NDPS Act regulationAlkaloids of medicinal plants (morphine, quinine, nicotine, caffeine)

Common traps

Reading 'medicine' and ignoring that the category asked is depressant vs stimulant vs hallucinogen
Confusing opium (depressant) with cannabis/LSD (hallucinogens)

MPPSC/UPSC ask the drug category or the source plant/alkaloid; fix opium ↔ depressant (opioid) ↔ Papaver somniferum ↔ morphine.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Morphine and codeine, medicinally important analgesics, are alkaloids obtained from:
- (a)Cannabis
- (b)Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)
- (c)Coca plant
- (d)Tobacco
Answer(b) Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is a central nervous system stimulant (not a depressant)?
- (a)Opium
- (b)Alcohol
- (c)Caffeine
- (d)Barbiturates
Answer(c) Caffeine — a stimulant; the others are depressants.