The Drug That Kills - Heroin

100% Pure Heroin

Pure heroin, which is a white powder with a nasty taste, is rarely sold on the streets anywhere. Most illicit heroin is a powder varying in color from white to dark brown. The differences in color are because of different dealers cutting and re cutting the drug down and most if not all the time the Heroin that is sold on the streets - when it reaches the streets is maybe 10-15% heroin. Another form of heroin, "black tar" heroin, is mostly only found in the western and southwestern United States. This heroin, which is produced in Mexico, may be sticky like marijuana or black cement, most user's prefer to smoke or inject this type of heroin.

Try It Once - Try It Always Again!

The short-term effects of abuse appear almost immediately after taking the drug. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity one person may ever experience in there life. ( Is it worth the risk) - No. Most main liner's or intravenous users typically experience the rush within 7 to 8 seconds after injection, while intramuscular injection produces a slower onset of this euphoric feeling, taking 5 to 8 minutes. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, the peak effects of the drug are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes.

After repeatedly using for only a short period of time, the long-term effects of the substance begin to appear in the user. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and liver disease. Additionally, pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may also result in the user.

One of the most significant side effects of heroin use is addiction. With regular heroin use, tolerance to the drug will develop. Once this happens, the abuser must use more and more to achieve the same intensity or effect that they are seeking. As higher doses of the drug are used over time, physical dependence and addiction to the drug develop.

Heroin History

Heroin was first synthesized in 1874 by C.R. Alder Wright, an English chemist working at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, England. He had been experimenting with combining morphine with various acids. He boiled anhydrous morphine alkaloid with acetic anhydride over a stove for several hours and produced a more potent, acetylated form of morphine, now called diacetylmorphine.

The Danger - How Its Used

Heroin can be smoked - (not usually) , sniffed or the bad part Injected. Injection is the worst way but also the most efficient way to taker low-purity. A lot of users have the fear of infection by sharing needles, but a lot do not and continue to share needles, spreading diseases with one another and to other people as well in other forms, such as unprotected sex, and any other way of blood contact. This has made snorting and smoking the drug more common.

Are You Addicted?

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.

Treatment

Buprenorphine - (Suboxone) is the most recent addition to the array of medications available for treating addiction to heroin and other opiates. This medication is different from methadone in that it offers less risk of addiction and can be dispensed in the privacy of a doctor's office. Several other medications for use in heroin treatment programs are also under study.