Heroin

 Heroin  is an addictive drug that is made from the poppy plant and it belongs to the opioid drug family. It is primarily produced in Asia and South America, since most of the poppy plants grow in those areas. Heroin is derived from morphine and it is its illegal counterpart. On the street, heroin is also known as: H, Black Tar, Brown Sugar, Horse, and Junk. In its pure form, heroin looks like white powder, but on the streets it usually looks like grey grains or black sticky gum. The methods of consumption are injection via syringe, sniffing the powder, and smoked with other drugs in a joint. Nowadays, the most popular method of consumption by heroin addicts is injecting liquid heroin with a syringe.

The animation below is a picture of the heroin molecule.

In these three pictures (from left to right) we can see a poppy plant where there is white liquid dripping from it. The white liquid is morphine, which will later be turned into heroin. The middle picture shows heroin in its black tar form, which looks like black sticky gum. The third picture demonstrates the process of injecting heroin. First you have to melt the heroin crystals and then afterwards you can inject it into your body.



In the picture below we can see heroin in its two powder forms. The brown powder is the lesser quality of heroin, which is commonly sold on the streets. The white powder is heroin in its pure form and the highest quality possible.



Just like all illegal drugs, heroin has some potential short-term and long-term effects.

Short-term effects:


 * Confusion
 * Dizziness
 * Headaches
 * Apathy
 * Nausea
 * Vomiting
 * Dry mouth
 * Constricted pupils
 * Impaired night vision
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Slurred speech

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Long-term effects:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Collapsed veins
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Respiratory impairment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Decreased libido
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Constipation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Heart infection
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Liver disease

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Overdosing with heroin is something common because it is an unpredictable drug for users whom have not used it for a long period of time. Also, the longer an addict takes heroin, the more tolerant he grows towards the drug. This phenomenon increases the risks of an overdose because the body can only take so much, but the user's brain is him to take more. Therefore, it is hard to have control on heroin doses.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">The following video is a documentary about heroin. It talks about its origins and effects.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">media type="custom" key="25008188"

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">References

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