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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 heroin's 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 SAMHSA's 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)
Heroin Use by Students, 1998:
Monitoring the Future Study
| |
1991 |
1995 |
1998 |
1998 |
| Ever Used |
1.7% |
1.4% |
2.2% |
1.6% |
| Used in Past Year |
--- |
--- |
0.8% |
0.2% |
| Mean age of initation |
--- |
--- |
21.7 |
20.7% |
|
