Heroin Addiction
Heroin is the worst kind of narcotic substance one can imagine and goes by various names like Black Tar, Brown Sugar, Big H, Dope, Junk, Horse, Mud, Skag, Smack, etc. In essence it is a highly addictive drug that is derived from morphine, which itself is obtained from the opium poppy. In appearance it ranges from white to dark brown powder. It is what is termed as a downer and interferes with the brain’s ability to feel pain.

Heroin is consumed in a variety of ways. Method of consumption is determined by the user’s preference as well as the purity of the drug. It can be consumed by way of injecting it into a vein, a muscle, smoked through a water or standard pipe, mixed in marijuana or a cigarette joint or inhaled as smoke through a straw.

The impact of heroin addiction is invariably catastrophic. In the short run it causes intense euphoria that is accompanied by a flushing of the skin and dryness in the mouth. After a little while the initial feeling of well being dissipates and is replaced by a feeling of sluggishness on account of suppression of the nervous system. There is an overall slowdown of faculties that includes symptoms of slowing down and slurring of speech, slow gait, constricted pupils, impaired night vision, and so on.

In the long run the users of heroin are basically racing away on the path to total ruination. Among the primary reasons for fatality because of heroin addiction are fatal overdose and contraction of the HIV/AIDS virus. The latter happens because of use of infected syringes to inject oneself with the drug.

Heroin impacts the brain in a manner that produces a sense of euphoria as well as a physical dependency on the drug. Heroin addicts take no interest whatsoever in daily life. Most of their time is taken up in procuring and consuming the drug and they live between and for the fixes. As their body’s tolerance of the drug increases they need to consume even larger quantities of the drug. This leads to the addict staking everything including his job, his finances, his family, and indeed his life to feed the habit that is inexorably taking him to his death. A heroin addict can spend up to $200 a day to feed his habit.

Long term users of the drug are at risk from abscesses, hepatitis, cellulitis, collapsed veins, infection of the lining of the heart and valves, liver disease, mal nutrition, pneumonia and complications relating to the kidneys. In the case of addicts who are pregnant, the baby in the womb gets exposed to the drug and experiences withdrawal upon birth.

There is every reason to never embark upon heroin.

If you know someone with a heroin addiction problem, please get them some help right away.

Find a drug rehabilitation center near you in our drug rehabilitation centers list and contact a drug rehab counselor immediately.

Use our First Step drug withdrawal book to help make coming off drugs easier and less painful.

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