HEROIN

Heroin abuse is perhaps the most hideous addiction of all. It can quickly destroy the addicted persons health and finances as well as dramatically impact those people around them. Abusing heroin starts off with the euphoria of the initial pleasure. It soon turns into a nightmare of cataclysmic proportions.

Heroin addicts can be found in every level of age, economic and social standing.
Once considered the drug mainly of poorer urban dwellers, it has recently found its way in to  the adolescent world as well as many affluent segments of our population.

Heroin is an extremely dangerous and powerful opiate. It is derived from the poppy plant. This powdered, white, crystalline substance is most often used by injecting, snorting or smoking it.

More young people are doing heroin than ever before. It has been estimated there are over 250,000 people currently addicted to heroin today, in this country alone.

Never try to detox yourself from heroin without the help of the medical profession. It is very dangerous. Withdrawing from heroin can cause serious physical and emotional trauma, including stroke, heart attack and even the death of the individual.

Recovering from heroin addiction is no different than any other addiction. A person needs to be detoxified first and then begin to willingly participate in a treatment program and continue to work on their recovery program daily.

The methadone program, a heroin derivative, was originally introduced as a means of helping a heroin addict deal with the difficulties surrounding withdrawal, treatment and recovery. The founders of this well-meaning initiative argued it was
a better way to help heroin addicts taper their way off heroin, gradually. They also contended it was better to have methadone clinics monitoring and administering
methadone than using dirty needles and street drugs. The program has had little real impact and the rate of successful heroin recovery and has created a whole new generation of people and problems for those who become addicted to methadone. Withdrawal from high doses of methadone can be even more difficult to detox from than heroin. The debate and issues continue to rage within the recovery industry.

Heroin Information

Heroin is a highly addictive drug, and its use is a serious problem in America. Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names associated with heroin include "smack," "H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar." Health Hazards Heroin abuse is associated with serious health conditions, including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("rush") accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes "on the nod," an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the depression of the central nervous system. Long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroins depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs. Reports from SAMHSAs 1995 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which collects data on drug-related hospital emergency room episodes and drug-related deaths from 21 metropolitan areas, rank heroin second as the most frequently mentioned drug in overall drug-related deaths. From 1990 through 1995, the number of heroin-related episodes doubled. Between 1994 and 1995, there was a 19 percent increase in heroin-related emergency department episodes. Tolerance, Addiction, and Withdrawal With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced or stopped. 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 much less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal. Extent of Use Monitoring the Future Study (MTF) According to the 1997 MTF, an annual survey of drug use among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th- graders, rates of heroin use remained relatively stable and low since the late 1970s. After 1991, however, use began to rise among 10th- and 12th- graders, and after 1993, among 8th- graders. In 1997, prevalence of heroin use was comparable for all three grade levels. Although the annual prevalence rates for heroin use remained relatively low in 1997, these rates are approximately two to three times higher than those reported in 1991. Heroin Use by Students, 1997: Monitoring the Future Study    8th-Graders  10th-Graders  12th-Graders  Ever Used  2.1%  2.1%  2.1%  Used in Past Year  1.3  1.4  1.2  Used in Past Month  0.6  0.6  0.5 Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) In December 1996, CEWG reported that the availability of low-priced, high-quality heroin continues to increase, especially in the East and some areas of the Midwest. This increase has also been reported in some cities that previously had escaped the influx of high-quality heroin. Quantitative indicators and field reports continue to suggest an increasing incidence of new users (snorters) in the younger age groups, often among women. One concern is that young heroin snorters may shift to needle injecting, because of increased tolerance, nasal soreness, or declining or unreliable purity. Injection use would place them at increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. In some areas, such as Boston and San Francisco, the recent initiates increasingly include members of the middle class. In Newark, heroin users are usually found in suburban populations. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) The 1996 NHSDA shows a significant increase from 1993 in the estimated number of current (once in the past month) heroin users. The estimates have risen from 68,000 in 1993 to 216,000 in 1996. Among individuals who had ever used heroin in their lives, the proportion who had ever smoked, sniffed, or snorted heroin increased from 55 percent in 1994 to 82 percent in 1996. During the same period, the proportion of users who injected heroin remained about the same, at about 50 percent.

Information on this page courtesy of National Institute on Drug Abuse.