Heroin is an opioid type drug, a derivative of morphine. It can cause a feeling of euphoria, but with many side effects, ranging from nausea to the vicious cycle of addiction.

Heroin looks like a simple white powder, composed of fine crystals, at least in its purest form. The heroine is halfway between the poppy plant and summary elements.

Its morphine modification process explains the other names of heroin: diamorphine, or diacetylmorphine.

Historically, heroin has come from the medical world. Morphine is already used there to relieve pain in patients. It was first synthesized in 1874, but it was not until 1898 that it was used in medicines. The feeling of euphoria provided by this new molecule quickly leads to a strong demand, which exceeds the medical community.

Faced with the problem, and the lack of efficiency in hospitals, heroin was banned there in the 50s. It remains one of the most widely consumed drugs in the world.

There are three types of heroin, the details of which are: 

Pharmaceutical

It is the purest version, in fine and white powder, which can be diluted without problem in water.

Number 3

This is the most prevalent smuggled version for sale illegally. It is most often made up of impurities, which gives it a more brown or beige complexion. It is most often intended to be smoked rather than dissolved in water.

The most impure, the “black tar”

Probably the worst version, pasty and full of impurities. Its color is dark, and its chemical composition leaves traces of unmodified morphine.

Heroin is a so-called synthetic hemi opioid. An opioid is a synthetic chemical substance capable of acting on the nervous system. This name comes from theopium, a natural substance derived from the sleeping poppy, which can also act on the nervous system. A hemi synthesis is the operation which modifies morphine without however producing new elements, and therefore creating heroin.

It comes from the same areas as morphine, that is, where opium poppies grow, in Asia and South America. However, its design taking place in the laboratory, it can be synthesized anywhere.

There are different methods of heroin use:

Intravenously

It is then injected after having been diluted and heated. It is the medical use, but also that used by some drug addicts. It is injected into a vein (and therefore into the blood), or under the skin, or directly into a muscle.

Sniffée

It is breathed in through the nose as a powder.

Smoke

Most often without a filter but by sucking in the combustion smoke. This is the so-called “dragon hunt” method, by sucking in the vapors.

Heroin is not meant to be swallowed.

In the case of a drug, taken voluntarily by an individual, it seems necessary to differentiate the positives from the negatives.

Positive effects

• Feeling of euphoria, linked to the production of dopamine and serotonin, the hormones of pleasure and happiness;
• Calming of the mind, usually a few minutes after taking heroin.

Adverse effects

• Nausea;
• Vomiting;
• Breathing and sweating disorders;
• Sexual breakdowns;
• Menstrual cycle disruption in women;
• Addiction (read below);
• Bacterial abscess and hematomas (if the injection is not performed by a professional) with risk of serious infection;
• Heart infection (if the heroin injected into the blood is unclean and contains bacteria).

Note that not everyone reacts the same way to taking heroin, and that attempting the experience will therefore be at their own risk. It is also much more dangerous in individuals who already have mental disorders, or in the elderly.

Finally, another heroin-related risk remains its illegality. To obtain it, users generally have to change their pace and lifestyle, and put themselves in dangerous situations.

In addition to its unwanted side effects, taking heroin on a regular basis quickly develops a addiction.

The mechanism is relentless: initially, consumers feel a euphoria that they want to reproduce. Unfortunately for them, after a few weeks the body gets used to taking heroin, and the pleasure gradually decreases. The absence of the compound in the body then creates a lack, who always asks for more heroin to be satisfied. This endless quest will cause various consequences:

• Disrupted daily life: obtaining heroin becomes a priority, to the detriment of social, family, professional life and personal esteem;
• Abandonment of the passions of the individual;
• Feeling of unease;
• For pregnant women, taking heroin presents risks of malformation of the unborn child;
• Drowsiness;
• Risk of overdose, with falling into a coma, or death.

Like any drug, the best time to quit is now: the longer you wait, the harder it will be.

For this different methods:

• If the addiction is recent, stop all consumption for at least three weeks;
• If the addiction is already well established, make a withdrawal.

Weaning is a long process, and to be warned, difficult. The lack of heroin in the body causes a strong feeling of lack, and it takes a lot of mental strength to resist it. Different structures come to the aid of patients who so desire, until they can stay in an enclosed space for a certain period of time, with the help of caregivers to alleviate suffering.

However, once the withdrawal has passed, the body returns to its original habits, and the feeling fades.