Supporting drug-free rehabilitation and education
Heroin Information
Heroin is an addictive drug, and its use is
a serious problem in America. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting
heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception
that these forms are safer. There are currently an estimated 166,000 heroin
users in the United States.
Looking for help for heroin addiction? Call
1-800-305-9350 to speak with a counselor that can
help.
Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring
substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually
appears as a white or brown powder. Street names for heroin include "smack,"
"H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a
specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar."
Heroin abuse is
associated with serious health conditions, including fatal overdose,
spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and, particularly in users who inject
the drug, infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
The
short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and
disappear in a few hours. Heroin users often "nod out" in an alternately
wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the
depression of the central nervous system. Long-term effects of heroin appear
after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed
veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and
liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia,
may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from
heroin’s depressing effects on respiration.
In addition to the
effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not
readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the
lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of
small patches of cells in vital organs.
With regular heroin use,
tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the
same intensity of effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical
dependence and heroin addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has
adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is
reduced or stopped.
Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as
early as a few hours after the last administration, produces drug craving,
restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold
flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"), kicking movements ("kicking the
habit"), and other symptoms. 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 is occasionally fatal, although
heroin withdrawal is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate
withdrawal.
© 2011 Drug-Free Alliance