Blame cytochrome P450 2D6, also known as CYP2D6. Found in the liver, it is responsible for metabolizing drugs including many narcotics. It also determines how "sensitive" a patient is to these drugs. For example, codeine is not bioactive until it is metabolized by CYP2D6 into morphine, the bioactive form that helps with pain. As such, how "sensitive" a patient is to codeine is determined by how active their CYP2D6 is. The more active, the more quickly codeine is c…