Heroin
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Heroin is a semi-synthetic opioid made from morphine which is a natural substance extracted from the seed pod of a specific poppy plant. It is a highly addictive drug and has a high potential for fatal overdose because of the varying tolerance level (the need for a bigger dosage to get the initial effect of the drug) of the individual using it and its variable purity found on the street.
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An opioid is a synthetic or partly synthetic analgesic substance, meaning that parts of it or the whole do not occur in nature it is partly or fully man-made. Common opioids are Demerol, Methadone, Percocet, and heroin to name a few.
An opiate is an analgesic substance that comes from the opium poppy flower and can be found in nature. Common opiates are morphine and codeine; both are directly made from the poppy plant.
In 1874, an English chemist C. R. Alder Wright discovered heroin when trying to develop a new pain-killer that would be as powerful as morphine with less addictive properties. By mixing and heating morphine with different acids he developed the drug, a new alternative to morphine. The drug gained popularity 23 years later when it was re-synthesized by another chemist Felix Hoffmann who worked for a German pharmaceutical company.
In the early 20th century this German company, named Bayer, marketed heroin as a cure for morphine addiction, as well as a cough suppressant. Later it was discovered that heroin metabolizes quickly into morphine in the body, making it a fast-acting type of morphine. It quickly became a drug with one of the highest addiction rates. Heroin addiction or its abuse is a serious socio-economical problem worldwide. Heroin is 1.5 to 2 times as powerful as morphine.
Heroin can be injected, smoked, or snorted. There is a wide range of health risks with injection but smoking and snorting, although deemed less dangerous for transmitted diseases, are not harmless in fact respiratory problems from smoking, and sinus infections from snorting are a risk.
Heroin has several street names, here are a few: junk, H, big H, smack, horse, skag, dope, black tar, brown sugar, china white.
The effects felt from heroin include;
Other effects include:
Some new users will have increased energy from the drug.
Long-Term Effects of Heroin
It is difficult to wake a person who is under the influence of heroin but the person should respond in some way to audio or physical attempts, if they don’t there is a possibility of an overdose call 9-1-1 for help.
Heroin’s withdrawal symptoms can vary in time and intensity. Generally, the symptoms start 6 to 12 hours after the person last used, and gradually intensifying over the following 3 days, then subsiding in 5 to 7 days. Withdrawal symptoms from it can include the following:
In studies nearly fifty percent of young people who inject heroin reported abusing prescription drugs (opioids). Some reported using heroin because it is cheaper and easier to get than prescription opioids like Fentanyl.