What is heroin?
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is a refined form of opium, which is extracted from the poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder, or as a black sticky substance known as "black tar heroin." It can be injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked.
What are the effects of using heroin?
The effects of using heroin depend on how much is used and the method of administration. Generally, users report feeling a "rush" (a surge of pleasure) followed by feelings of relaxation and well-being. Other common effects include dry mouth, impaired mental functioning, flushed skin, and heavy limbs. In higher doses, users may also experience slow and shallow breathing, nausea, vomiting, and extreme drowsiness (known as "the nod").
What are the risks of using heroin?
Using heroin carries a number of serious risks. Because it is illegal, it is often laced with other substances that can be harmful, or even deadly. Heroin is also highly addictive, and withdrawal symptoms can be severe. Some of the most common risks associated with using heroin include:
-Overdose: When too much heroin is used, it can slow down the respiratory system to the point where breathing stops altogether. This can lead to brain damage or death.
-Infectious diseases: Because heroin is typically injected, users are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases.
-Addiction: As mentioned, heroin is highly addictive. This means that users may find it difficult to stop using the drug, even if they want to.
What are the signs and symptoms of someone using heroin?
If you suspect that someone you know is using heroin, there are a number of signs and symptoms of Heroin use you can look for, including:
-Slurred speech
-Anxiety or irritability
-Constricted pupils
-Nodding off or falling asleep unexpectedly
-Loss of appetite/weight loss
-Sudden changes in behavior or appearance
How can I get help if I'm using heroin?
If you or someone you know is using heroin, there is help available. There are a number of treatment options that can be effective in helping people to stop using the drug and get their lives back on track. If you're not sure where to start, you can contact a local addiction specialist or call 1-800-662-HELP to speak with someone who can help you find the treatment you need.
Why is heroin so addictive?
How to stop abusing of heroin?
Heroin withdrawal
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as a black sticky substance known as "black tar heroin."1
How Does Heroin Work?
Upon entering the brain, heroin is converted to morphine and binds to receptors known as mu opioid receptors. These receptors are located in many areas of the brain (and in the body), including those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure, the control of heart rate, breathing, sleeping, and blood pressure, and in learning and memory.2,3
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 dry mouth, a warm flushing of the skin, heaviness of extremities, and clouded mental functioning.4 Nausea, vomiting, and severe itching may also occur. Asheroin suppresses breathing, heart rate, and sleeping, continued use can lead to fatal overdose.
Long-term effects of heroin include addiction,abscesses, collapsed veins, constipation and diarrhea (from continual usage), destruction of tissue inside the nose if sniffed/snorted, gastrointestinal cramping just name a few.
How Addictive Is Heroin?
Heroin is considered one of the most addictive drugs, both because of its pharmacological effects and because of the rapidity with which dependence develops.4,7 Users report feeling compelled to continue taking heroin just to feel "normal."8 Tolerance also develops, so that users have to take larger doses to achieve the desired effects.9 As they increase their doses, they also increase their chances of an overdose. In addition, users may develop physical dependence, so that they need heroin just to feel well enough to function normally without experiencing withdrawal symptoms.10 Withdrawal from heroin typically begins within 6-12 hours after the last dose and may include symptoms such as restlessness, muscle and bone pain, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"), and leg movements ("kicking the habit").11
How Is Heroin Used?
Heroin can be injected, inhaled by sniffing or snorting, or smoked. All three routes of administration deliver the drug to the brain very rapidly, which contributes to its health risks and to its high risk for addiction. Injecting is the riskiest method of use; in addition to the dangers inherent in using dirty needles (including HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases), users also face severe allergic reactions and death if they inject impure substances.12
What Are the Other Health Effects of Heroin Use?
In addition to the effects of the drug itself, users who inject heroin also put themselves at risk for contracting other diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C.13 These diseases are transmitted through contact with contaminated blood or sharing of contaminated needles.
How Common Is Heroin Use?
The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which polls Americans about their drug use, found that an estimated 4.2 million people aged 12 or older had used heroin at least once in their lifetimes (1.6 percent of the population) and about 23 percent of those who used heroin met the diagnostic criteria for dependence or abuse in the year prior to being surveyed.14
Among young adults aged 18-25, 1 percent had used heroin in the past year.15
In 2013, an estimated 169,000 people aged 12 or older were current (past month) heroin users, which represents 0.06 percent of the population aged 12 or older.16 This group is composed of 98,000 men (0.1 percent of all men in this age group) and 71,000 women (0.1 percent of all women in this age group).17 In 2012-2013, 681,000 adolescents aged 12-17 used heroin at least once in their lifetimes (2.7 percent), and about 23 percent of those who used heroin met the diagnostic criteria for dependence or abuse in the year prior to being surveyed.14
The Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, which polls adolescents in grades 8, 10, and 12 about drug use, found that 0.3 percent of 8th-graders, 0.5 percent of 10th-graders, and 0.7 percent of 12th-graders reported using heroin at least once in their lifetimes in 2013.18 MTF data also suggest a decrease in heroin use among adolescents over the past decade; for example, 1 percent of 12th-graders reported using heroin at least once in their lifetimes in 2001.19
What Are Treatment Options for Heroin Addiction?
Behavioral therapies are the cornerstone of treatment for heroin addiction.20 These therapeutic approaches help engage individuals in treatment, modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use, and increase their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environments in which they are prone to relapse.21 Medications, including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, have played a significant role in treating heroin addiction by reducing craving and withdrawal symptoms and blocking the effects of opiates.22