Heroin

Although heroin abuse has trended downward during the past several years, its prevalence is still higher than in the early 1990s. These relatively high rates of abuse, especially among school-age youth, and the glamorization of heroin in music and films make it imperative that the public has the latest scientific information on this topic. Heroin also is increasing in purity and decreasing in price, which makes it an attractive option for young people.

Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction. Tolerance to heroin develops with regular use. This means it will take more heroin to produce the same level of intensity to the user. This results in physical addiction to the drug developing over time.

When the drug is discontinued, the user will experience physical withdrawal. The withdrawal can begin within a few hours since it was last administered. Withdrawal symptoms include: Insomnia, Vomiting, Muscle and Bone Pain, Cold Flashes, Diarrhea and Restlessness. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health can be fatal.

Smoking Heroin: Smoking heroin gives a quicker but milder effect than injecting or snorting it. The heroin reaches the brain within seconds, with a peak effect time of 10 minutes, causing a warm relaxing surge through the body. Less of the drug is absorbed than with other methods of use and can reduse the risk of an overdose.

Snorting Heroin: Snorting heroin means the drug dissolves slowly through the fine skin in the nostrils and enters the bloodstream gradually, the effect is usually felt within 15 minutes.

Injecting Heroin: Injecting the drug is a quick way of getting a lot of heroin directly into the bloodstream and to the brain. Before injecting it has to be mixed with an acid, such as citric acid. Lemon juice should not be used as this can cause a fungal infection in the eyes or heart. Injecting is the most dangerous way of taking heroin.

Heroin Overdose

One of the biggest problems with an illegal street drug such as heroin is that there is a possibility of overdose. Now many people who overdose will actually do so not due to taking too much pure heroin, but more often from taking too much of the drug when it has been cut with other unknown drugs, or by combining it with other drugs or alcohol. At any rate, overdoses can and do occur all the time, so I wanted to touch on them and provide some information about them.

Heroin is made from morphine which comes from the poppy plant. It is illegal, but sold on the streets, which causes problems with purity and creates unknown variances in strength. It has been banned from hospitals or from any other kind of legal medicinal purposes because of its highly addictive nature. Heroin addiction causes many adverse health problems, not the least of which is collapsed veins (due to continued use of needles to inject the drug). Additives to heroin on the street can cause infections that damage major organs; these additives do not always dissolve in the system and so can cause clogging of the blood vessels. Continued poor health in a user can cause pneumonia as well. Using heroin on a long-term basis causes the user to work up a tolerance to it, creating a need for more.

Common Signs of Heroin Use

• Pupil Constriction
• Nodding Out (Unable to stay awake)
• Track Marks (Needle Injection Sites)
• Heavy Body (Looks like arms are to heavy to lift or move)

Heroin Paraphernalia

• Needles
• Spoon (used to cook heroin, burn marks on bottom)
• Small plastic baggies with white powder residue
• Tin foil or Aluminum foil (burn marks on bottom)
• Cotton balls (filters the heroin prior to loading the needle)
• Glass Pipe