What is Heroin?
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused
and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from
morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod
of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white
or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets
as "black tar heroin."
Although less diluted heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin
is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar,
starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with
strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the
actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of
overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the
transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles
or other injection equipment.
How is Heroin Used?
Heroin is usually injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked. Typically, a
heroin abuser may inject up to four times a day. Intravenous injection
provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria (7
to 8 seconds), while intramuscular injection produces a relatively slow
onset of euphoria (5 to 8 minutes). When heroin is sniffed or smoked,
peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. Although smoking
and sniffing heroin do not produce a "rush" as quickly or
as intensely as intravenous injection, NIDA researchers have confirmed
that all three forms of heroin administration are addictive.
Injection continues to be the predominant method of heroin use among
addicted users seeking treatment; however, researchers have observed
a shift in heroin use patterns, from injection to sniffing and smoking.
In fact, sniffing/snorting heroin is now the most widely reported means
of taking heroin among users admitted for drug treatment in Newark,
Chicago, and New York.
With the shift in heroin abuse patterns comes an even more diverse
group of users. Older users (over 30) continue to be one of the largest
user groups in most national data. However, the increase continues in
new, young users across the country who are being lured by inexpensive,
high-purity heroin that can be sniffed or smoked instead of injected.
Heroin has also been appearing in more affluent communities.
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