"Heroin"

What is heroin?

Pure heroin (diacetylmorphine) is a white powder with a bitter taste abused for its euphoric effects. Heroin, a highly addictive drug, is derived from the morphine alkaloid found in the opium poppy plant (Papaver somniferum) and is roughly 2 to 3 times more potent than morphine. It is usually injected, smoked, or snorted up the nose. It exhibits euphoric ("rush"), anti-anxiety, and pain-relieving properties.

Heroin history in the U.S.

Heroin was first synthesized legally from morphine (which came from opium) in the late 1800s. The Bayer Company of Germany was the first to introduce heroin in the U.S. However, by the early 1900s addiction and abuse were widespread, and by 1924 federal law made all heroin use illegal in the U.S.

                                         

 

Methods of use

Heroin is most often injected intravenously (IV), however, it may also be:

• vaporized ("smoked")
• sniffed ("snorted")
• used as a suppository
• orally ingested.

• Effects of heroin use

  Heroin is metabolized to morphine and other metabolites which bind to opioid receptors in the brain.

• After injection, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria (the "rush") accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities.
• Following this initial euphoria, the user experiences an alternately wakeful and drowsy state.
• Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system.
• The short-term effects of abuse appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours.

                               

             

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)

Several medical treatment options exist for heroin addiction and opioid use disorder (OUD): the general term for this process is Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). A medically supervised withdrawal prior to MAT is known as detoxification ("detox")

“It's a good thing most people bleed on the inside of this would be a gory, blood-smeared earth.”