Heroin

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In its purest form heroin is a white powder derived from the dried milk of the opium poppy. When impure it can be brown in colour, it contains morphine and cadeine, both effective painkillers. There are also many other naturally occuring and synthetic heroin like drugs including codeine, diconal, dihydrocodeine (df 118s), methadone, morphine, opium itself, palfium, pethidine and temegesic. Heroin is one of several highly addictive drugs derived from the opium poppy plant, along with morphine, opium, Dilaudid, and others. People inject opiates, snort them or take them by mouth.

Common street names:
Heroin: - Lady, white girl, horse, black tar, brown sugar, smack, goods, H, junk, Harry
Morphine: - M, white stuff, cube, morf, mud, nasty

How they are taken:
Heroin is often smoked using tin foil heated up underneath resulting in the heroin turning to a liquid form and the user inhales the fumes commonly called tooting or chasing the dragon. Although heroin is most commonly injected.

Effects Heroin slows people down giving them a feeling of warmth and detachment. depresses brain activity and widens blood vessels. high doses lead to drowsiness and sedation. heroin can also lessen the desire to eat. blocks out both physical and mental pain. can cause vomiting. street heroin is often cut with other stuff, such as glucose or talcum powder. this itself may be dangerous and make it difficult to know how big a dose is being taken. overdose is a real risk and can result in coma and death.

Because opiates are extremely addictive, withdrawal symptoms occur when a person stops or decreases their use.Tolerance and physical dependence develop quickly. users find they need to increase the amount they take to continue to feel the full effects. withdrawal symptoms can be very unpleasant and similar to flu-aches, sweating, chills and shaking. they generally fade after about a week, but the biggest problem in staying off heroin is fighting the psychological craving.

Risks: As heroin leaves the brain and body, users experience withdrawal symptoms, which are often described as feeling like a severe case of flu. They include watery eyes, runny nose, yawning, loss of appetite, tremors, panic, chills, sweating, nausea, muscle cramps, and insomnia. Blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and temperature all elevate. People can overdose on heroin, which reduces the number of messages the brain sends to the chest muscles. The person's breathing slows, and, if the dose is high enough, stops. Heroin use during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight, stillbirths, placental abruptions, and sudden death syndrome.

Babies of addicts are born dependent on the drug and must go through withdrawal as their first task in life.
Injecting is the most dangerous way of taking heroin and brings additional dangers, particularly if needles and other equipment are shared. this can lead to infections such as hiv or strains of viral hepatitis. heroin is a class a drug with heavy penalties for possession, use, supply or selling. that means a fine, a prison sentence or both.

Withdrawl Symptoms
uneasiness	diarrhea	crying	yawning
tremors	weight loss	abdominal cramps	goose bumps
runny nose	severe craving for the drug

Withdrawal symptoms begin within 24 hours after last use and may last up to 7-10 days. Although these symptoms cause discomfort, the benefits to a person who stops using opiates greatly outweigh an addiction to the drugs. These benefits include improved health and greater enjoyment of everyday activities. Withdrawal can be dangerous depending upon the amount of the drug the person used. Medical attention is STRONGLY ADVISED!

Immediate effects: (These effects may last approximately 4 hours)
decreases awareness of the outside world	vomiting	drowsiness	nodding off
depression of respiration	unconsciousness	dilated pupils
Effects of prolonged use:
physical dependence	psychological dependence	lethargy and indifference to environment and people	reduction of bowel movements
infections of the heart lining and valves	skin abscesses	congested lungs	death
With large doses
user cannot be awakened	pupils become very small	skin becomes cold, moist, and bluish in color	breathing slows down
death from overdose

Legal Status
It is illegal to grow, process, sell or use heroin. Morphine and other opiate derivatives, are in lower schedules because of their use in medicine as potent pain relievers.

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For information about other drugs, return to Drug Information Page.