Melanie DottsJose’ BatistaKyle Pizzichili

Overview• Heroin is an opioid drug that is

synthesized from morphine (a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian opium “poppy plant”)

• Heroin is a highly addictive drug

• It is a “downer” or depressant that affects the brain’s pleasure system, and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain.

Street Names

• Smack• H• Tar• Chiba or Chiva• Junk• Brown sugar• Skag• Mud, or Mexican mud• Mexican horse• Mexican brown• Dragon• Dope• China

• White, or White stuff• White lady, or White horse• Boy, or Whiter boy• He• Black, Black tar, Black pearl,

Black stuff, or Black eagle• Snow• Snowball• Scat• Sack• Skunk• Number 3,4,8

Appearance

• Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder, or as a black sticky substance (known as “black tar” heroin)

Methods of Use

• Injected• Inhaled by snorting or sniffing• Smoked

How Heroin is Used in Selected Areas

How does the drug work?

• When heroin enters the brain, it is converted back into morphine. This binds to molecules on cells known as opoid receptors.

• These receptors are located in many areas of the brain (and other areas of the body), especially those involved in the perception of pain and reward.

• Opioid receptors are also located in the brain stem, which controls automatic processes critical for life; such as blood pressure, arousal, and respiration.

Advantages vs. Disadvantages• Can be used as a pain

reliever/sedative• Gives people the

“high” or “rush” they are craving

• Highly addictive• Affects chemicals in

your brain• Heroin's overdose

leads to certain death due to major breathing and heart collapse

How much does it cost?

• Heroin is sold either as individual doses, usually in $10 "bags", or by weight.

Short-term Effects• After an intravenous injection of

heroin, users report feeling a surge of euphoria (“rush”), accompanied by a dry mouth, warm flushing of the skin, heaviness of the extremities, and clouded mental functioning.

• Following this euphoria, the user goes “on the nod” (an alternately wakeful and drowsy state).

• Users who do not inject the drug may not experience the initial rush, but other effects are the same.

Long-term Effects

• Regular heroin use changes the functioning of the brain.

• One result is tolerance, in which more of the drug is needed to achieve the same intensity of effect.

• Another result is dependence, characterized by the need to continue use of the drug to avoid withdraw symptoms.

• Chronic users may develop:• Collapsed veins• Infection of the heart lining

and valves• Abscesses• Constipation• Gastrointestinal cramping• Liver or kidney disease

*Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health of the user as well as from heroin’s effects on breathing.

Long-term Effects

Dependence• Chronic use of heroin leads

to physical dependence; a state in which the body has adapted to the presence of the drug.

• If a dependent user reduces or stops use of the drug abruptly, he or she may experience severe symptoms of withdrawal.

• These symptoms, which can begin as early as a few hours after the last drug administration, can include:• Restlessness• Muscle and bone pain• Insomnia• Diarrhea and vomiting• Cold flashes with goose bumps• Kicking movements

*Users also experience severe craving for the drug during withdrawal (which can precipitate continued abuse and/or relapse).

Dependence continued..

• It is estimated that about 23% of individuals who use heroin become dependent on it.

Abuse/Addiction• HIGHLY addictive

• Even a single dose of heroin can start a person on the road to addiction.

• Heroin abuse is associated with a number of serious health conditions including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, and infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV.

• Signs of heroin abuse include:• Behavioral changes• Hyperactivity followed by fatigue• Disorientation• Irresponsibility at work or school• Lying• Wearing long shirts and pants

even during warm weather• Increased sleeping• Slurred speech• Track marks on arms or legs• Weight loss• Constant runny nose• Scabs or bruises due to picking at

the skin

What groups are most likely to use heroin?

• Heroin users are predominantly white males, over age 30, who live in central city areas

• Most heroin sellers tend to be young adults between the ages of 18 and 30

• Among heroin users, young Blacks are resisting injection initiation while young Whites exhibit the opposite tendency. New research should investigate reasons for this trend and its impact on the HIV epidemic and future service needs

Treatment• For many heroin abusers, an inpatient treatment

program is an ideal option. Inpatient treatment programs are designed to:• Help heroin abusers overcome a physical and psychological

addiction to the drug• Feature a detoxification period (can vary from person to person

depending on the severity of the drug abuse)• Help heroin abusers understand why they abuse the drug, as well

as what they can do to maintain a sober lifestyle

Treatment• Outpatient treatment

programs for heroin addiction are ideal for abusers who have already successfully completed an inpatient program.

• Outpatient programs provide abusers support through a number of programs and meetings. (However, unlike an inpatient treatment center, an outpatient center does not provide abusers with a controlled environment).

• Many treatment programs for heroin abusers involve the use of methadone. This is used as:• A medication due to its

ability to block the receptors in the brain that constantly require heroin

• Help to curb heroin cravings and lessen withdrawal symptoms

Facts and Statistics• Heroin use has been rising since 2007, growing from 373,000 yearly

users to 669,000 in 2012, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

• Heroin overdose deaths have also spiked, increasing 45% from 2006 to 2010, according to the most recently available data from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

• Law enforcement has been seizing more heroin— the amount the DEA confiscated at the southwest border almost quadrupled between 2008 and 2010.

• In 2011, 4.2 million Americans aged 12 or older had used heroin at least once in their lives.

References• http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin

• http://www.drugfree.org/drug-guide/heroin

• http://opiophilia.blogspot.com/2013/05/heroin-in-united-states-where-does-it.html

• http://time.com/4505/heroin-gains-popularity-as-cheap-doses-flood-the-u-s/

• http://drugabuse.com/library/heroin-abuse/

• http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/heroin/i-ll-just-try-it-once.html

• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2268905/