Heroin
Heroin (Diamorphine Hydrochloride, Diacetylmorphine)
Street name
H, Brown, Smack, Gear, Junk, Skag, Horse, China White, Dragon, Toot,
General Info
Heroin is a drug made from Morphine, which is extracted from the opium poppy. When Morphine is made into Heroin to be used as a medicine it is called Diamorphine. This is a very strong painkiller, stronger than Morphine or Opium.
When medically produced Heroin is a pure white powder, but when illicitly produced it tends to be a beige or brown powder. Or more rarely as a white powder ('China White').
Heroin can be snorted up the nose, smoked using tinfoil ('tooting', 'chasing' or 'chasing the dragon') or mixed with tobacco in a hand-rolled cigarette, or injected.
Effects
- If injected it can cause intense exhilaration (or rush), euphoria, relaxation, and decreased anxiety.
- It can have unpleasant side effects such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, decreased heart-rate, shallow breathing and a coma due to respiratory failure which can be fatal.
Risks
- Heroin is highly addictive and people can quickly get hooked
- Injecting Heroin and sharing injecting equipment creates increases the risk of spreading serious infections like hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS.
- When injecting, veins may be damaged or an abscess or blood clot may develop. This can lead to gangrene.
- If Heroin is taken with other drugs, including alcohol, an overdose is more likely.
Class
Class A