Heroin

What is heroine, how does it look like, manners of use

Heroin is a drug. It belongs to the opiates or substances extracted from the poppy plant. Heroin is mixed for use with all sorts of other substances. Heroin can vary from a coarse white powder to yellow-brown chunks which are called ‘brown’ or ‘smack.’

Heroin is mostly inhaled in the Chinese manner, which is called “smoking on tin foil” or injected. “Smoking on tin foil” involves placement of the heroin powder on tin foil and heating it with a lighter. The vapours are then inhaled using a tube and enter the lungs directly.

Addictive? Generally occurs quite quickly and is major, both physically and psychologically.
Increasingly more needed for the same effect? Yes.
Short-term effects: Reduction of pain and feelings of anxiety, brief euphoria, dulled emotions, constipation. Duration of effect differs per type of opiate.
Long-term effects: Indifference towards the environment and her/himself.
Important: Risk of malnutrition and self-neglect which increase the chances of infection. When injected, extra risk of an overdose and/or infection (HIV, aids, hepatitis, etc.).

What is Heroin?

Heroin is a drug. It belongs to the opiates which are substances extracted from the poppy plant (Latin: papaver somniferum). By carving the unripe pod and drying the milk which comes out, raw opium is attained.

Morphine can then be extracted from this raw opium, and heroin is made by chemically processing morphine.

Pure heroin can also be synthesized in the laboratory. However, heroin of that strength is never for sale in actual practice. Before reaching the final user, that is, the successive dealers have mixed the heroin with all sorts of other substances such as caffeine, aspirin, sugar or flour. Mixture with dangerous substances also occurs. In Bulgaria, the calibre of street heroin thus varies from 3% to 60% purity. The appearance also varies from a coarse white powder to yellow-brown chunks which are thus called ‘brown’ or ‘smack.’

Where does it come from?

In 3000 BC, the poppy plant was cultivated in what is now Switzerland. In 300 BC, the Greeks report the making of opium. In the 18th century, smoking opium was a widespread custom in many Asiatic countries.

Opium was easy to attain in Europe as well but did not create major problems at the time. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was discovered that morphine is the active compound in opium. In light of the addictive nature of morphine, however, its use has been restricted to only medical purposes — that is, use as a painkiller — since the beginning of the 20th century.

Heroin was first produced in 1874 by Alder Right, English chemist, working in the medical school of the hospital St.Marry in London. Heroin becomes famous when it is synthesized in 1898 indepednantly by another chemist – Felix Hofman. It was sold as a strong painkiller and as medicine for tuberculosis, a heavy cough or morphine addiction (!).

When heroin was found to be more addictive than morphine, the medicinal use of the substance was gradually brought to a halt in most countries.

The first bans were announced in 1914, and this made heroin of interest for drug trafficking. It quickly ousted opium and morphine in position. Internationally, the ban on heroin was only made definite in 1961. In 1972, heroin appeared large scale on the European drug market.

How is it used?

Most famous ways of heroin use are sniffing, smoking and injecting. The effects depend on the way of use and the individual characteristics of the user. The most famous method of heroin use in Bulgaria is injecting. Despite the risks of AIDS and other infectious illnesses because of using needles that someone else already has used, heroin addicts most often use by injecting. During the last years the usage through sniffing and smoking of heroin is becoming more popular.

Who uses it?

The average number of people with heroin problematic use in Bulgaria is 20 000 - 30 000, for Sofia – 11993 people. The common number of people at the age of 15 to 64 is 888123. On this basis, approximately 13 of 1000 people use heroin. In the last few years there is a tendency of decrease of the number of heroin users.

Heroin is seductive for people who have problems because it temporarily numbs you and allows you to forget your problems for at least a little while. However, the use of heroin leads to new problems. The market is predominantly in criminal hands which makes the price of heroin relatively high. Getting what one needs on a daily basis is not an easy task, and some users therefore turn to criminal means as well to get their hands on money. The statistics say that drug use is directly connected to the anti-social acts (small crimes and thefts). Most of the addicts announce having committed at least one thief, every third person of them has been caught by the police.

Most heroin users use other substances as well such as cocaine, alcohol, hash or narcotic medicines which cause a certain euphoric sensation. The use of multiple substances is called ‘poly-drug use.’

What does the user feel?

With the use of heroin, one’s breathing and heart rate are literally slowed. The body temperature drops a little. The pupils contract greatly. Opiates impair the functioning of the intestines and the sphincter muscles. The sex drive can also decline.

In the beginning, the user can experience vomiting, headaches, dizziness, nausea, itching and a strange feeling in one’s head. The active compound does not, in and of itself, damage any tissues or organs. In fact, the physical effects are nothing compared to what the user feels: A quick numbing effect which comes as a ‘flash.’ This effect is usually experienced upon first use and continues to stand out most even after a few uses and the user does not suffer from too many side effects. Pain, dejection, anxiety, hunger and cold all disappear. The user enters a state of extreme relaxation, turns inward and becomes totally indifferent: The outside world no longer matters.

Heroin works for 4 to 6 hours. The effect depends upon the user, the amount of experience with the substance, the amount taken and the manner in which it is taken.

Can you become addicted?

A distinction can be made between psychological and physical dependence.

We speak of physical dependence when the body protests after stopping the use of a substance (withdrawal symptoms occur). Compared to other substances, this occurs quite quickly for heroin. That doesn’t mean that one can become addicted after only one use. The physical addiction is increasing when you use heroin more frequently.

More intensive use is fostered by yet another physical phenomenon, namely: tolerance. This means that the body quickly grows accustomed to the substance and more heroin is thus needed to attain the same effect.

When the heroin wears off, any and all of the following withdrawal symptoms can occur: the user feels sick, transpires, is clammy and cold, has goose pimples, has a runny nose, suffers stomach cramps and experiences pain in the arms and legs. The user can also suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea. These problems disappear after you take another dose of heroin. That is how the user enters the vicious cycle.

These complaints disappear as soon as heroin is used again. And in such a manner, the user gets sucked into a vicious circle.

Psychological dependence means that the user increasingly craves the substance and really does not feel good without it. Heroin makes people psychologically dependent. Heroin numbs everything, both physical and psychological pain. This makes people with severe problems (homeless, unemployed, abused) vulnerable to heroin use. However, others can get quickly hooked as well, which makes experimentation with heroin a very risky business.

What are the risks?

In addition to physical and psychological dependence, heroin brings the following risks with it.

Overdose, not infrequently with death as a consequence. The slowed breathing induced by heroin can be lethal. An overdose can have different causes: an overly high dose taken all at once, the same dose as before but taken after a period of abstinence (non-use) or being surprised by an unusual degree of purity.
Inflammation and infection as a result of careless and unhygienic needle use.
Given that heroin suppresses pain complaints, an illness may not be detected or detected too late.
Heroin use disrupts the menstrual cycle; sometimes the menstruation disappears altogether.
Newborn babies of mothers who use show withdrawal symptoms.
The combination of heroin with other sedating substances is dangerous because the different substances only intensify each other’s effects. This can have deadly consequences.

Can you stop using?

Stopping heroin use is an enormous task for those who have become dependent. If the person stops cold turkey and thus without the aid of medication, the detoxification symptoms can be fierce and last between 7 and 10 days.

Detoxification can also be done under the guidance of a doctor and with the aid of gradually reduced doses of methadone. Methadone is an artificial opiate which works longer than heroin (an average of about 24 hours). The advantage of this is that the body doesn’t ask as quickly for a new supply of the substance. The user can follow a normal day and night rhythm instead of constantly searching for a new supply of heroin. As a result of such order and structure, not only the physical condition but also the psychological and social conditions of the user can improve. Other advantage of methadone use is that it is pure and taken orally. The risks of methadone are nevertheless the same as for heroin: It is and remains an anaesthetizing drug.

It is difficult to withdraw permanently from heroin. The psychological dependence constitutes the greatest obstacle. The underlying problems still exist in most cases and the building of a new life is very, very difficult and taxing. Heroin continues to offer an escape. And the danger of relapse is thus great. Despite that, the successfulness of the rehabilitation programs for heroin addicts in Europe is 68%.

Handling of users

Heroin use brings certain symptoms which have already been described. The symptoms cannot, however, be used to determine whether or not someone in your surroundings is using. The only means to do this is to talk openly with the person in question.

In a candid conversation, it is also possible to talk about the extent and the reason of the use. Regular use can point to underlying problems which can possibly be tackled by the user him/herself with the help, if necessary, of others and possibly professionals.

For both the problematic user and his or her environment, the following holds: Do not be afraid to ask for advice or seek help.