Effects of Heroin

The effects of heroin were once described as magical and a 'gift from God'. Heroin is a naturally-occurring drug produced from the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. The raw opium is extracted from the seed pods as a milky sap. Opium, in some form, has been used for over 6000 years and was heavily used in the USA and UK in the nineteenth century. It is produced in two main areas:the Golden Triangle, which includes South East Asia, China, Afghanistan, Thailand, Pakistan, India and Indonesia,

and the Golden Crescent: Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus and Greece.

Heroin was created in Germany in 1895 as a substitute for aspirin, as aspirin was thought to have too many possible side effects. In 1898 heroin was marketed as a cough medicine for children and a non-addictive morphine substitute. Indeed it was marketed as a "cure" for morphine addiction. This was before it was discovered that heroin is converted to morphine in the liver, as are all opiates.

In its pharmaceutical form, heroin is a white powder. It may be found as tablets or ampoules of clear liquid for injection. The street version tends to be a coarse powder which varies from cream-coloured through to dark brown. The better quality heroin tends to be light brown in colour. Street samples are usually around 20% pure.

Method of Use
Heroin can be swallowed as a tablet or powder, but this method of use is rare. It can also be snorted as a powder. However currently the most common methods of use are smoking and injecting. Smoking (known as chasing the dragon) is done by heating the powder in tin foil and in-haling the smoke through a small tube. Heroin can also be smoked in joints by adding the powder to cannabis or tobacco, but again this tends to be rare. The other and most prevalent method is by injection, either intramuscularly or intravenously (see pictures below). This provides by far the quickest method of achieving a high (Julien, 1997).

Adverse Effects
There are of course negative effects of heroin. For example one of the common effects of heroin is that it can induce nausea and vomiting, especially in new users, as well as causing constipation. The main short-term risk in heroin use is fatal overdose: street heroin varies greatly in purity so it is difficult for users to gauge dosages. If heroin is injected, then ulceration can occur and if users share needles and syringes there is the risk of HIV.

Long-term use brings both tolerance and a high risk of dependence. Decreased appetite and apathy can lead to poor nutrition, leaving the user open to infection. Some of these adverse effects tend to be more the result of lifestyle rather than the drug itself. Withdrawal from heroin is un-pleasant and involves stomach cramps and a flu-like state. However, sudden withdrawal is rarely (if ever) life-threatening and is considerably less dangerous than alcohol withdrawal.

For statistics on heroin use in the USA click here.

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