Heroin FAQs
WhAT IS HEROIN?
Heroin is an opiate processed from morphine extracted from the seed pods of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is an illegal and highly addictive drug sometimes cut with other powder, including sugar, starch, powdered milk or quinine, to increase volume, which helps the person selling it make more money.
In the United States today, you can buy two types of heroin: pure heroin and "black tar" heroin.
Pure heroin comes from South America and Southeast Asia and is a white powder with a bitter taste. Most of the heroin sold in the eastern United States is this form of heroin.
Black tar heroin comes from Mexico and is sold mainly in the states west of the Mississippi River. It is typically sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal and gets its dark color from the processing, which leaves behind impurities.
In the United States today, you can buy two types of heroin: pure heroin and "black tar" heroin.
Pure heroin comes from South America and Southeast Asia and is a white powder with a bitter taste. Most of the heroin sold in the eastern United States is this form of heroin.
Black tar heroin comes from Mexico and is sold mainly in the states west of the Mississippi River. It is typically sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal and gets its dark color from the processing, which leaves behind impurities.
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid or painkiller, first developed in the 1960s. It’s about 100 times more powerful than morphine, and between 30-50 times more powerful than heroin.
“It is so potent and so deadly that even a microgram amount can kill someone,” said Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Rusty Payne.
Doctors prescribe it to cancer patients and others experiencing severe pain, often in the form of lollipops and patches, but more illicit forms are now proliferating. It’s also a driving force behind a sweeping drug epidemic, which claimed 47,000 deaths in 2014, according to the most recent estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was before fentanyl started to take hold of the nation.
In recent years, the drug has been illegally manufactured in labs in Mexico and China. It’s often used to cut heroin without buyers’ knowledge, resulting in lethal consequences.
“It is so potent and so deadly that even a microgram amount can kill someone,” said Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Rusty Payne.
Doctors prescribe it to cancer patients and others experiencing severe pain, often in the form of lollipops and patches, but more illicit forms are now proliferating. It’s also a driving force behind a sweeping drug epidemic, which claimed 47,000 deaths in 2014, according to the most recent estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was before fentanyl started to take hold of the nation.
In recent years, the drug has been illegally manufactured in labs in Mexico and China. It’s often used to cut heroin without buyers’ knowledge, resulting in lethal consequences.
what are the Symptoms of Heroin Use?
Heroin is a fast-acting opiate. When it’s injected, there is a surge of euphoria that arrives within seconds. Those using the drug other ways may not feel this surge as sharply.
The user will get a dry mouth and his or her skin will flush. The user’s pupils will be constricted. He will feel heavy and dopey and may fade in and out of wakefulness. Heroin users may nod off suddenly. Breathing will be slowed, which is how an overdose kills.
When awake, the person’s thinking will be unclear. They will tend to lose some of their memory. Their decision-making and self-control are likely to deteriorate.
Other signs of heroin use are itching, nausea and vomiting. Another sign of heroin use is the constipation often suffered by opiate abusers. The regular user of this drug may look for laxatives. They may experience skin infections, or other kinds of infections, and a lowered immunity to illness.
The user’s pain will be suppressed, which is not surprising because opiates are used for pain relief. Heroin use can also include spontaneous abortion in a pregnant woman.
The user will get a dry mouth and his or her skin will flush. The user’s pupils will be constricted. He will feel heavy and dopey and may fade in and out of wakefulness. Heroin users may nod off suddenly. Breathing will be slowed, which is how an overdose kills.
When awake, the person’s thinking will be unclear. They will tend to lose some of their memory. Their decision-making and self-control are likely to deteriorate.
Other signs of heroin use are itching, nausea and vomiting. Another sign of heroin use is the constipation often suffered by opiate abusers. The regular user of this drug may look for laxatives. They may experience skin infections, or other kinds of infections, and a lowered immunity to illness.
The user’s pain will be suppressed, which is not surprising because opiates are used for pain relief. Heroin use can also include spontaneous abortion in a pregnant woman.
HOw is heroin used?
A user injects, snorts or smokes heroin to get their fix. All methods deliver this drug to the brain quickly.
For black tar heroin, the user usually dissolves and dilutes, then injects it.
Heroin in its powder form, on the other hand, can be more desirable to new users not ready to begin injection drug use because you can snort it. You can smoke either kind.
For black tar heroin, the user usually dissolves and dilutes, then injects it.
Heroin in its powder form, on the other hand, can be more desirable to new users not ready to begin injection drug use because you can snort it. You can smoke either kind.
What are the effects of heroin on the brain?
Once heroin enters your brain, the body converts it back to morphine and it binds to opioid receptors, located in many areas of your brain and body. The changes heroin causes in your brain causes its high risk for addiction and the chronic relapsing that may follow after treatment.
Long-term effects of heroin addiction on the brain include:
Long-term effects of heroin addiction on the brain include:
- tolerance - over time you will need more of the drug to achieve the same effect
- dependence - you need to use heroin do prevent withdrawal symptoms
- possible deterioration of the brain's white matter, which affects your ability to make decisions, regulate behavior and appropriately respond to stressful situations
What Are the Immediate (Short-Term) Effects of Heroin Use?
Whether heroin is injected, snorted or smoked, the user experiences an immediate "rush" followed by a feeling of euphoria as it is converted back to morphine in the brain. The only difference is the user experiences the rush more quickly if the heroin is injected or snorted than he does if the drug is smoked. The high is not only quicker, it is more intense.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Heroin Use?
Heroin users quickly build up a tolerance to the drug, meaning that they need more of it or need it more often to achieve the same effect that they felt when they first used it. Consequently, with the increased usage, they can become addicted very quickly. Heroin also can cause physical and physiological changes and imbalances in the brain that are very difficult to reverse, even when the user gets clean and sober.
What Are the Medical Complications of Chronic Heroin Use?
Because heroin use depresses respiration, many users develop lung complications, which along with the general poor health of the user can result in contracting tuberculosis and some types of pneumonia.
There are many other negative medical consequences due to use of the drug itself and others related to how heroin is used and other substances mixed with the drug to increase the profits of dealers
There are many other negative medical consequences due to use of the drug itself and others related to how heroin is used and other substances mixed with the drug to increase the profits of dealers
What Are the Opioid Analogs and Their Dangers?
Chemical compounds that have similar effects of other drugs although different in chemical structure are called drug analogs. Some of these are legitimate, produced by drug manufacturers for medical use.
Other drug analogs, however, are produced illegally and sometimes are more dangerous and potent than the original drug. These analogs are sometimes called designer drugs.
Two of the most well-known opioid analogs are fentanyl and meperidine (marketed under the brand name Demerol). Fentanyl was developed in 1968 as an analgesic during surgery because of its minimal effects on the heart.
Fentanyl is particularly dangerous because it is 50 times more potent than heroin and can quickly stop the person's breathing. In a surgical setting, that is not a problem because the patient is on a machine to help them breathe.
But when abused illegally, on the street, fentanyl can be deadly.
In early 2014, a rash of drug overdoses was reported as a result of heroin being sold on the street that had been mixed with fentanyl.
Other drug analogs, however, are produced illegally and sometimes are more dangerous and potent than the original drug. These analogs are sometimes called designer drugs.
Two of the most well-known opioid analogs are fentanyl and meperidine (marketed under the brand name Demerol). Fentanyl was developed in 1968 as an analgesic during surgery because of its minimal effects on the heart.
Fentanyl is particularly dangerous because it is 50 times more potent than heroin and can quickly stop the person's breathing. In a surgical setting, that is not a problem because the patient is on a machine to help them breathe.
But when abused illegally, on the street, fentanyl can be deadly.
In early 2014, a rash of drug overdoses was reported as a result of heroin being sold on the street that had been mixed with fentanyl.
How prevalent is fentanyl in the us?
In some states, fentanyl makes up a major proportion of escalating opioid death tolls. In 2015 victims in more than half of the 1,319 opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts had fentanyl in their system, and 283 fatal drug overdoses involved fentanyl in New Hampshire.
“Fentanyl is what is killing our citizens,” Manchester’s chief of police, Nick Willard, testified before Congress earlier this year.
While the north-east is one of the areas that’s seen some of the more dramatic increases in death, Payne said the epidemic is by no means exclusive to the area: “We’re not seeing places where it’s not a problem.”
National data on fentanyl is incomplete. Not every medical examiner’s office is able to distinguish between types of opioids when a person dies.
“If this were Zika we would be calling a public health emergency,” said Traci Green, deputy director of Boston Medical Injury Prevention Center, and one of the presenters of the data.
On 15 April the DEA issued another report, this time to warn that hundreds of counterfeit oxycodone pills that turned out to be fentanyl were seized in the Otay Mesa Port in San Diego.
Similar incidents involving fake Xanax and Norco pills that were actually fentanyl, were reported around the country around this period as well.
Reports compiled by epidemiologist Steven P Kurtz, director of the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities, shows that a variety of fentanyl pills pressed in the form of other substances, were appearing in California, Florida, and through the middle of the country from Wisconsin, and Ohio to Mississippi.
“Fentanyl is what is killing our citizens,” Manchester’s chief of police, Nick Willard, testified before Congress earlier this year.
While the north-east is one of the areas that’s seen some of the more dramatic increases in death, Payne said the epidemic is by no means exclusive to the area: “We’re not seeing places where it’s not a problem.”
National data on fentanyl is incomplete. Not every medical examiner’s office is able to distinguish between types of opioids when a person dies.
“If this were Zika we would be calling a public health emergency,” said Traci Green, deputy director of Boston Medical Injury Prevention Center, and one of the presenters of the data.
On 15 April the DEA issued another report, this time to warn that hundreds of counterfeit oxycodone pills that turned out to be fentanyl were seized in the Otay Mesa Port in San Diego.
Similar incidents involving fake Xanax and Norco pills that were actually fentanyl, were reported around the country around this period as well.
Reports compiled by epidemiologist Steven P Kurtz, director of the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities, shows that a variety of fentanyl pills pressed in the form of other substances, were appearing in California, Florida, and through the middle of the country from Wisconsin, and Ohio to Mississippi.
WHY IS ADDICTION TO HEROIN SUCH A TRAP? WHY DOES THE USER NEED HELP TO ESCAPE?
One of the many sad things about heroin addiction is that the addict himself or herself is seldom aware of the damage being done to his or her life. They will often begin to neglect their own needs, the acquisition of the day’s dose of heroin being far more important. They may not eat properly and may look haggard if heroin abuse is prolonged or heavy.
Some heroin addicts may ask for help, but the majority fear the pain and sickness of withdrawal. It is very often up to the family members to rescue the heroin-addicted person and get him or her into withdrawal. It may only be by knowing the signs of heroin use that you can detect the addiction and begin to make arrangements for rehabilitation. An addict may try to conceal symptoms of heroin use by wearing long-sleeved clothing to cover needle marks.
Some heroin addicts may ask for help, but the majority fear the pain and sickness of withdrawal. It is very often up to the family members to rescue the heroin-addicted person and get him or her into withdrawal. It may only be by knowing the signs of heroin use that you can detect the addiction and begin to make arrangements for rehabilitation. An addict may try to conceal symptoms of heroin use by wearing long-sleeved clothing to cover needle marks.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF HEROIN USE?
Paraphernalia:
- Burnt spoons
- Tiny baggies
- Tan or whitish powdery residue
- Dark, sticky residue
- Small glass pipes
- Syringes
- Rubber tubing
- Tiny pupils
- Sleepy eyes
- Tendency to nod off
- Slow breathing
- Flushed skin
- Runny nose
- Vomiting
- Scratching
- Slurred speech
- Complaints of constipation
- Complaints of nausea
- Neglect of grooming
- Failure to eat
- Covering arms with long sleeves
WHAT IS A HEROIN OVERDOSE AND HOW DOES IT KILL PEOPLE?
Heroin, like all opiates, depresses the central nervous system (CNS) and reduces the automatic processes critical for life – heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing and consciousness – which can lead to death. Many fatal heroin overdoses involve one or more other drugs with similar side effects, such as other opiates, alcohol or benzodiazapines like Xanax. But a heroin user can unknowingly consume heroin that is much stronger (more pure) than he or she is used to, causing an overdose of heroin by itself.
