Heroin Works

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Heroin

  • Other names:

    Smack

  • What is it?

    Heroin is one of a group of drugs that come from the opium poppy. This group includes morphine and codeine, but heroin is the strongest. It is the most effective painkiller doctors have, being used to treat severe pain in patients suffering from terminal diseases.

  • What does it look like?

    In it's purest form, heroin is a white powder, but street heroin is brownish in colour. It's usually sold in small paper packets, often known as wraps.

  • What are the effects?

    Heroin relieves physical pain by creating a sense of euphoria in which things don't seem to matter. On using the drug, you feel warm, as if wrapped in cotton wool, and drowsy. If you are not used to the drug, it is common to be sick. Your skin can feel itchy, and you may nod off and wake several times. Some people become livelier.

  • What are the risks?

    Most of the health risks with heroin are to do with the content of street drugs and injecting. You may not know just how pure the drug is, making it easier to overdose. It may also be contaminated with other powders that could cause problems if injected. And remember that once you inject you run the risk of HIV and Hep C.

  • Is it addictive?

    Yes. It is either smoked or injected or snorted. It will just depend on how much you use. The more you use the quicker it happens. Physical addiction is not something that happens over night and most people experience a desire to take the drug again, but are not addicted.

  • What is an overdose and what should you do?

    Overdose can happen when you take too much, or you haven't done it in a while. This can also occur when the heroin is purer than usual. Some signs of overdose are extreme drowsiness that eventually leads to coma, shallow breathing and cold clammy skin. If an overdose is suspected, then put the person in the recovery position (on their right side with their left knee bent) and call an ambulance immediately. In hospital, they have a drug that reverses the effects of heroin.

  • Is it dangerous to stop?

  • If you have been using heroin regularly the physical symptoms of stopping suddenly include hot and cold sweats and muscle cramps, sleepiness, runny nose and vomiting. It can be compared to a heavy dose of flu, and although unpleasant, it is rarely dangerous. Symptoms are usually at their worst after 3 days but after a week, most of the physical symptoms will have passed.

  • Legal Status:

    Illegal and if you are buying for a friend, you could be done on intent to supply.

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