Heroin

resources: media type="file" key="H.mp3" [] [] What is heroin? Heroin is a very addictive and fast acting drug that is derived from opium. What is heroin? Heroin is a highly addictive and rapidly acting opiate (a drug that is derived from opium). Specifically, heroin is produced from morphine, which is a principal component of opium. Opium is a naturally occurring substance that is extracted from the seedpod of the opium poppy.

What does it look like?
The appearance of heroin can vary dramatically. In the eastern United States, heroin generally is sold as a powder that is white (or off-white) in color. (Generally, the purer the heroin the whiter the color, because variations in color result from the presence of impurities.) In the western United States, most of the heroin available is a solid substance that is black in color. This type of heroin, known as black tar, may be sticky (like tar) or hard to the touch. Powdered heroin that is a dirty brown color also is sold in the western United States

Who uses heroin?
>>> Individuals of all ages use heroin--data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 3,091,000 U.S. residents aged 12 and older have used heroin at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that many teenagers and young adults have used heroin at least once--76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 474,000 individuals aged 18 to 25. >>> Heroin use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 2 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and nearly half of those injected the drug, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey.

How is heroin abused?
>>> Heroin is injected, snorted, or smoked. Many new, younger users begin by snorting or smoking heroin because they wish to avoid the social stigma attached to injection drug use. These users often mistakenly believe that snorting or smoking heroin will not lead to addiction. Users who snort or smoke heroin at times graduate to injection because as their bodies become conditioned to the drug, the effects it produces are less intense. They then turn to injection--a more efficient means of administering the drug--to try to attain the more intense effects they experienced when they began using the drug.

What are the risks?
>>> Both new and experienced users risk overdosing on heroin because it is impossible for them to know the purity of the heroin they are using. (Heroin sold on the street often is mixed with other substances such as sugar, starch, or quinine. An added risk results when heroin is mixed with poisons such as strychnine.) Heroin overdoses--which can result whether the drug is snorted, smoked, or injected--can cause slow and shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and even death. >>> All heroin users--not just those who inject the drug--risk becoming addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin over time develop a tolerance for the drug, meaning that they must use increasingly larger doses to achieve the same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the drug. Heroin ceases to produce feelings of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel normal. Addicted individuals who stop using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include heroin craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting. >>> Heroin users who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses. Chronic users who inject heroin also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver and kidney disease.

**Street Terms for Heroin** || || **Big HBoyCapital HChina whiteChiva**
 * **Dead on arrivalDieselDopeEighthGood H** || **HHell dustHorseJunkMexican horse** || **MudPoppySmackThunderTrainWhite junk** ||  ||

The Street Cost of Heroin
How much does heroin cost on the street? The price of heroin on the street depends upon a number of different factors – including the type of heroin in question, how it was “cut” and processed, as well as the availability in public at that given time. Generally, the following holds true about heroin street cost:
 * The average cost of a single dose of heroin (purchased on the street) is approximately $10 – $25.
 * The heroin price depends upon its purity and the availability of the drug in the area at that given time.
 * An individual with a “hard-core” heroin habit ma
 * y pay $150 – $200 per day in order to support his or her habit.

The short-term effects of heroin are: a euphoric nod, warm flushed skin, dry mouth and heavy extremities. This is followed by the alternating state of wakefulness and drowsiness known as "on the nod" and a clouded mental functioning that is the result of the depressive effect Heroin has on the central nervous system.

Long-term effects are far more serious and occur with repeated use. Heroin addicts suffer from collapsed veins, infections of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, liver disease and pulmonary complications. There is also the risk of the sometimes-fatal infection through shared syringes

Heroin usage becomes addiction when a tolerance to the drug is built up. This means the potential addict will have to increase the dosage to experience the same "rush". Tolerance also means that the body has assimilated the drug and will suffer withdrawal without it. Now the drug is needed not only by the mind craving the high but also the body.

**Heroin is a morphine derivative**, and morphine is opium’s most potent active ingredient. First synthesized in 1874, heroin was widely used in medicine in the early part of the 20th Century, until its addictive potential was recognized.

**BASIC FACTS ****ABOUT** ** DRUGS:HEROIN **

**In the mid-Nineties,** it seemed heroin was suddenly staging a comeback. The reality, however, was that heroin had never left. While overall drug use in the U.S. dropped sharply through the Eighties, heroin use remained relatively steady. During the Nineties, it started to rise, as the addict population grew and changed. Heroin on the street became purer; the price stayed the same; and more young and middle-class Americans began using the drug.

What is Heroin?

Known on the street as smack, horse, H, junk, or scag, **heroin is the most commonly abused of narcotics.** Narcotic drugs (also called opioids) are derivatives of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) or chemically similar synthetics.

**Heroin is a morphine derivative**, and morphine is opium’s most potent active ingredient. First synthesized in 1874, heroin was widely used in medicine in the early part of the 20th Century, until its addictive potential was recognized.

**Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste.** Street heroin may vary in color from white to dark brown because of impurities or additives. There is a dark brown or black form of the drug, as dense as roofing tar or coal, known as "black tar." Produced in Mexico, it is widely available in the western United States.

**Street heroin is rarely pure.** A "bag," or single dose, may contain 50 milligrams of powder. In the past, very few of those milligrams were likely to be heroin—most of the bag was filled with such additives as milk sugar, powdered milk, or quinine. In 1980, the average bag was only 4 percent pure heroin. By the mid-Nineties, however, purity was generally 40 percent or higher. In the Northeast, it averaged between 60 and 75 percent.

Are Narcotics Used Medicinally?

Acting mostly on the central nervous and digestive systems, narcotics relieve pain, control diarrhea, and suppress coughing. Although heroin cannot be prescribed in the U.S., the medical use of other narcotics is widespread.

**Opium**, the sticky sap of the poppy seed pod, is now rarely used medicinally, save for severe diarrhea, and is seldom abused in this country (although smoking opium is common elsewhere in the world).

**Morphine**, widely used to relieve severe pain, is sometimes abused, often by medical professionals.

**Codeine**, like morphine, is a natural ingredient of opium, although less potent. It is found in prescription cough medicines and pain relievers and is favored by some abusers.

**Other opium derivatives** prescribed for moderate to severe pain and sometimes abused include: hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (Percodan, Percocet), and hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet).

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">Methadone, a synthetic used mainly in the treatment of heroin addiction, is often abused and responsible for a number of overdose deaths.

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Fentanyl** is a powerful synthetic used for severe pain and as a surgical anesthetic. Abuse is very dangerous.

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**How do you Narcotics Affect You?**

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Autonomic effects •** Narcotics affect many organs through the autonomic nervous system, which controls such body functions as circulation, respiration, and digestion. They cause blood vessels to relax and heartbeat to slow, lowering blood pressure. They slow and weaken contraction of muscles that control breathing and constrict intestinal muscles, slowing digestion.

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Sedation** • Narcotics may produce drowsiness, grogginess, and mental confusion. Characteristic of heroin use is the half-conscious state called "nodding."

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Euphoria •** As do most drugs of abuse, narcotics induce euphoria. The sense of contentment and physical relaxation that characterize the heroin "high" generally last three to four hours. When heroin is injected or smoked, however, the high is preceded by a short period of intense pleasure known as a "rush."

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Tolerance** **•** Regular use causes the body to resist narcotic effects, requiring higher and more frequent doses to achieve the same results.

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Dependency •** Over time, regular users easily become "hooked"—physically and psychologically dependent, craving the pleasure the drug brings and unable to interrupt use without suffering symptoms of withdrawal (including chills, muscle cramps, severe shaking, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea).

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**How is Heroin Taken?**

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">When prescribed, narcotics are most often taken by mouth. **Heroin, however, is generally inhaled or injected, although it may also be smoked.**

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">The availability of high-purity heroin in recent years, the spread of HIV infection among intravenous (IV) users, and the negative stereotype of the IV addict prompt many new users to limit themselves to inhaling the drug. They will "snort" or "sniff" powder into their nostrils (some dissolve it in nose drops).

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Heroin can be mixed with tobacco or marijuana** and smoked in a pipe or cigarette. It may also be heated and burned, releasing fumes that users inhale ("chasing the dragon").

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">**Injection, in addition to producing a "rush," is an economical route of administration.** By injecting the drug, rather than smoking or inhaling it, the same effects are achieved with less heroin. Users who choose this route generally inject directly into a major vein ("mainlining"), although some may start by injecting under the skin ("popping").

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">Heroin abusers often use other drugs as well. They may "speedball," taking cocaine or methamphetamine with heroin, or use alcohol, marijuana, or tranquilizers to enhance the high and blunt effects of withdrawal.


 * <span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">Paying the Price of Heroin Use **

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">The negative consequences of heroin use range from mild distress to life-threatening dangers and include:


 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Dry, itchy skin and skin infections
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Constricted pupils and reduced night vision
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Nausea and vomiting (following early use or high doses)
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Constipation and loss of appetite
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Menstrual irregularity
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Reduced sex drive
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Scarring ("tracks") along veins and collapsed veins from repeated injections
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Irregular blood pressure
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Slow and irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Fatigue, breathlessness, and labored, noisy breathing due to excessive fluid in the lungs ("the rattles")
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Injuries that result from engaging in any activity (such as working, driving, or operating machinery) when incapacitated by heroin use
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Dependence, addiction
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Hepatitis, AIDS, and other infections from unsanitary injection
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Stroke or heart attack caused by blood clots resulting from insoluble additives
 * <span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial Narrow,Arial; text-decoration: none;">Respiratory paralysis, heart arrest, coma, and death from accidental overdose

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">What is Heroin’s Behavioral Impact?

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">The behavioral impact of habitual heroin use is generally devastating. Most habitual users are incapable of concentration, learning, or clear thought. Rarely are they able to hold a job. They are apathetic, indifferent to consequences, and unable to sustain personal relationships. For many, the inability to honestly earn enough to meet their drug needs leads to crime. For the overwhelming majority, compulsive use prompts behavior that is self-destructive and irresponsible, often antisocial, and characteristically indifferent to the injury, pain, or loss it causes others.


 * <span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">Can Heroin Addicts Recover? **

<span style="font-family: helvetica,arial narrow,arial; text-decoration: none;">Yes, they can. **Treatment takes various forms,** and detoxification may be needed, by some, to manage the effects of withdrawal. The main thrust of treatment, however, addresses underlying causes of drug abuse and helps recovering abusers become more self-aware, self-reliant, responsible, and able to manage stress without the "crutch" of drugs.


 * Answer:** Heroin is usually injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked. Typically, a heroin abuser may inject up to four times a day. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria (7 to 8 seconds), while intramuscular injection produces a relatively slow onset of euphoria (5 to 8 minutes).

When heroin is sniffed or smoked, peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. Although smoking and sniffing heroin do not produce a "rush" as quickly or as intensely as intravenous injection, NIDA researchers have confirmed that all three forms of heroin administration are addictive.