Basic Facts - Heroin
What is Heroin?
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."
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.
How is Heroin Taken?
When prescribed, narcotics are most often taken by mouth.
Heroin, however, is generally inhaled or injected, although it may also be
smoked. 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"). Users who choose injection, generally inject
directly into a major vein ("mainlining"), although some may start by
injecting under the skin ("popping"). 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.
Paying the Price of Heroin Use
The negative consequences of heroin use range from mild
distress to life-threatening dangers and include:
- Dry, itchy skin
and skin infections
- Constricted
pupils and reduced night vision
- Nausea and
vomiting (following early use or high doses)
- Constipation and
loss of appetite
- Menstrual
irregularity
- Reduced sex
drive
- Scarring
("tracks") along veins and collapsed veins from repeated injections
- Irregular blood
pressure
- Slow and
irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
- Fatigue,
breathlessness, and labored, noisy breathing due to excessive fluid in the
lungs ("the rattles")
- Injuries that
result from engaging in any activity (such as working, driving, or operating
machinery) when incapacitated by heroin use
- Dependence,
addiction
- Hepatitis, AIDS,
and other infections from unsanitary injection
- Stroke or heart
attack caused by blood clots resulting from insoluble additives
- Respiratory
paralysis, heart arrest, coma, and death from accidental overdose
What is Heroin's Behavioral Impact?
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 anti-social, and characteristically
indifferent to the injury, pain, or loss it causes others.
Can Heroin Addicts Recover?
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.
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