Problems
Tolerance to the drug's effects develops fast. That is why ethylmorphine is normally used only as a temporary medicine to treat e.g. cough. Patients may develop addiction. Side effects, which are rare for medical doses but normal for recreational doses, include the classical opiate side-effects: nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, miosis and constipation. Also, some people are hypersensitive or allergic to ethylmorphine and should never take it. Additionally, the same dose of ethylmorphine can have completely different effects on two different people because of large individual differences in metabolism.
Opioids are known of causing severe physical dependence, in addition to psychological addiction. This type of addiction is hard to treat.
Taking ethylmorphine in combination with alcohol or other drugs that have a suppressive effect on the central nervous system boosts both drugs' effects, creating a dangerous combination. Possible outcome is death through respiratory arrest.
In recreational use the most common problem, however, is liver damage and other effects caused by other compounds besides ethylmorphine. Some analgesics with ethylmorphine also contain indometacin (e.g. Indalgin), which is toxic in high doses.
Antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac) inhibit the enzyme that metabolizes ethylmorphine. Taking ethylmorphine while using such an antidepressant may therefore lead to major changes in ethylmorphine's effects. Conversely, barbiturate compounds such as phenobarbitone induce the same enzyme, which rapidly increases the metabolism of ethylmorpine. Other current medications therefore always have to be taken into account when using this compound.
Read more about this topic: Ethylmorphine
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