Rapper Pimp C, from the group UGK, died from an overdose of this combination.Codeine is used in illegal drug laboratories to make morphine. Detection
Codeine and its major metabolites may be quantitated in blood, plasma or urine to monitor therapy, confirm a diagnosis of poisoning or assist in a medico-legal death investigation. Drug abuse screening programs generally test urine, hair, sweat or saliva. Many commercial opiate screening tests directed at morphine cross-react appreciably with codeine and its metabolites, but chromatographic techniques can easily distinguish codeine from other opiates and opioids. It is important to note that codeine usage results in significant amounts of morphine as an excretion product. Furthermore, heroin contains codeine (or acetyl codeine) as an impurity and its use will result in excretion of small amounts of codeine. Poppy seed foods represent yet another source of low levels of codeine in ones biofluids. Blood or plasma codeine concentrations are typically in the 50–300 µg/L range in persons taking the drug therapeutically, 700–7,000 µg/L in chronic users and 1,000–10,000 µg/L in cases of acute fatal over dosage.Codeine is produced in the human body along the same biosynthetic pathway as morphine. Urinary concentrations of endogenous codeine and morphine have been found to significantly increase in individuals taking L-DOPA for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. Legal status
Around the world, codeine is, contingent on its concentration, a Schedule II and III drug under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
A similar tablet called "A.C. & C." (which stands for Acetylsalicylic acid with Caffeine and Codeine) containing 325–375 mg of acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) instead of acetaminophen is also available without a prescription. Codeine combined with an antihistamine, and often caffeine, is sold under various trade names and is available without a prescription. These products are kept behind the counter and must be dispensed by a pharmacist who may limit quantities.Names of many codeine and dihydrocodeine products in Canada tend to follow the narcotic content number system (Tylenol With Codeine No. 1, 2, 3, 4 &c) mentioned below in the section on the United States; it came to be in its current form with the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906.Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19) effective July 28, 2020. Codeine is now classified under Schedule 1, giving it a higher priority in the treatments of offenders of the law. Codeine became a prescription-only medication in the province of Manitoba on February 1, 2016. The number of low-dose codeine tablets sold in Manitoba decreased by 94 percent from 52.5 million tablets sold in the year prior to the policy change to 3.3 million in the year after. A pharmacist may issue a prescription, and all purchases are logged to a central database to prevent overprescribing.