Heroin
What is heroin?
- Heroin is highly addictive illegal drug.
- On the street, it is also called smack, horse, junk and H.
- It's an opioid, and is made by chemically changing morphine, a natural substance found in opium poppies.
- Heroin can be injected, snorted, or smoked. When smoked it is called "chasing the dragon".
Effects...
- Heroin use results in feelings of intense pleasure and reduced pain.
- Nausea, vomiting, and severe itching are not uncommon. Longer lasting effects include "nodding".
- Heroin decreases appetite, which can result in malnutrition.
- Injecting can lead to collapsed veins, bacterial infections, abscesses, infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B, C and HIV.
Heroin and addiction
- When used regularly, tolerance develops.
- Users may continue using even when job or family suffers, or when it causes financial, spiritual, or legal problems.
- Babies born to heroin addicted mothers are often premature and underweight, and they go through withdrawal at birth.
- Sometimes a person changes their lifestyle to match their substance use, so that there does not seem to be a problem.
