Heroin has been around for some time, and it’s still one of the most addictive drugs in the world. The drug was first manufactured and marketed by the German pharmaceutical firm Bayer in 1898 as a treatment for tuberculosis. Strangely enough, it was also sold as a remedy for morphine addiction and eventually became even bigger than the morphine problem it was supposed to solve. Today, heroin is used by millions of people around the world.
If you have a friend or loved one who is hooked on heroin, then you have to do something about it. You can at least refer their case to a drug addiction treatment center before it’s too late. This drug is incredibly destructive, and the only way to save your loved one is to make him or her undergo treatment as soon as possible.
Appearance and method of use
Heroin comes in various forms. It could come as a fine white powder or as a sticky, brown substance referred to as “black tar heroin.” It is commonly liquefied and injected intravenously for a quick and potent high, but more and more people are opting to snort or smoke the drug. It is also not unheard of for users to add heroin to marijuana joints or tobacco cigarettes to get that stronger kick.
Short-term effects
Once heroin enters the bloodstream, it will make its way to the brain. The enzymes there will then convert the heroin into morphine and immediately binds to the brain’s opioid receptors, which control how we feel pleasure and pain. The user will experience a rush of euphoria and other effects such as a feeling of heaviness in the limbs, warm flushing of the skin, and dry mouth.
After the initial rush, the user will find himself or herself going back and forth between a state of wakefulness and drowsiness, which can get confusing. Mental functions may also be impaired, severely affecting one’s ability to make decisions or solve problems.
Heroin use may also lead to nausea, vomiting, and constipation. The user’s breathing heart rate, and blood pressure may also plunge, sometimes to dangerous levels. Other physical short-term effects of heroin include slowed or slurred speech, severe itching, poor night vision, droopy eyelids, constricted pupils, and delirium.
These effects of heroin typically last for three to five hours.
Long-term effects
One of the most dangerous long-term effects of heroin use is tolerance buildup. With constant use, heroin abusers eventually develop a tolerance to the drug, which means its effects on the user will no longer be felt that much. As a result, users inject, snort, or smoke larger quantities of heroin so that they can feel the same effects.
Once tolerance to heroin sets in and users compensate by taking more of the drug, they put themselves at a higher risk of suffering an overdose, and it’s easy to overdose on heroin. When a user overdoses on heroin, he or she will experience slow and shallow breathing and convulsions. If not given first aid or rushed to the hospital immediately, a person who overdosed on heroin could just slip into a coma or die.
Aside from tolerance, frequent heroin use also leads to physical dependence on the drug, wherein the body adapts to the presence of heroin and exhibits withdrawal symptoms if the person abruptly decreases or stops use. Eventually, frequent use that has gone on for too long develops into a heroin addiction, which will drive the person to seek the drug regardless of circumstances and consequences.
When a person injects heroin regularly for a long time, he or she is likely to suffer from collapsed veins, which can cause bacterial infections that may affect the blood vessels and the heart. Heroin is also known to cause arthritis, strokes, kidney and liver damage, and lung infections such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. Other long-term effects of heroin use include long-term impotence in men, weakened immune system, menstrual disturbance in women, inflammation of the gums, and bad teeth.
Other dangers of heroin
It’s almost impossible for anyone to get their hands on pure heroin, and there is simply no way for a person to know the purity level of the heroin that he or she is purchasing. Some drug dealers cut pure heroin with baking soda, sugar, starch, talcum powder, powdered milk, caffeine, and even rat poison. While some might only react to the part about rat poison, you must realize that none of the substances mentioned before it are in any way safe to inject into the bloodstream. These substances can cause either poisoning or artery blockage, which can lead to heart attacks and other cardiac emergencies.
One of the biggest—and best-known—dangers of injecting heroin is the increased risk of HIV, Hepatitis C, and other highly infectious diseases among users, especially those who share needles with other users.
In the United States, heroin is listed as a Schedule I substance. Only substances with a high potential for abuse and serves no legitimate medical purpose are on that list, and heroin certainly deserves to be on it. Being an illegal Schedule I drug, heroin use, possession, manufacture, distribution, and sale are punished harshly by the law.