Heroin Addictions

A community portal about Heroin Addictions with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Heroin, also known as diamorphine or diacetylmorphine, is a semi-synthetic opioid. It is the 3,6- diacetyl derivative of morphine and is synthesised from it by acetylation. The white crystalline form is commonly the hydrochloride salt, diacetylmorphine hydrochloride. It mimics endorphins and thus causes a high sense of well-being when entered into the bloodstream. For this reason it can be used both as a pain-killer and a recreational drug. It has a high addiction potential, and frequent administration may cause a rapid development of tolerance by the user, especially when compared to other substances, though occasional use may not lead to symptoms of withdrawal. Internationally, heroin is controlled under Schedules I and IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It is illegal to manufacture, possess, or sell heroin in the United States ; however, under the name diamorphine, heroin is a legal prescription drug in the United Kingdom. Popular street names for heroin include gear, diesel, smack, B, skag, Bobby, black tar, horse, junk, jenny, brown, brown sugar, dark, Dope and H.

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Heroin

Written by mirzarais on

From: narcoticsabuse.blogspot.com

Heroin is used as a recreational drug for the intense euphoria it induces, which diminishes with increased tolerance. Its popularity with recreational drug users, compared to morphine and other opiates, stems from its perceived different effects; this is unsupported by clinical research.
Controlled studies comparing the physiological and subjective effects of injected heroin and morphine in post-addicts, subjects showed no preference for either drug when administered on a single-injection basis. Equipotent, injected doses had comparable action courses, with no difference in their ability to induce euphoria, ambition, nervousness, relaxation, drowsiness, or sleepiness. Data acquired from short-term addiction studies did not indicate that heroin tolerance develops more rapidly than morphine. The findings have been discussed in relation to the physicochemical properties of heroin and morphine and the metabolism of heroin. When compared to other opioids — hydromorphone, fentanyl, oxycodone, and meperidine, post-addicts showed a strong preference for heroin and morphine, suggesting that heroin and morphine lend themselves to abuse and addiction. Morphine and heroin were also much more likely to produce euphoria, and other subjective effects when compared to most opioid analgesics. Heroin can be administered several ways, including snorting and injection, and may be smoked by inhaling its vapors when heated, i.e. "chasing the dragon".
Some users mix heroin with cocaine in a "speedball" or "snowball" that usually is injected intravenously, smoked, or dissolved in water and then snorted, producing a more intense rush than heroin alone, but is more dangerous because the combination of the short-acting stimulant with the longer-acting depressant increases the risk of seizure, or overdose with one or both drugs.
Once in the brain, heroin is rapidly metabolized to morphine by removal of the acetyl groups, thus is as a prodrug. Morphine is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier as quickly as heroin, which gives heroin a subjectively stronger 'high'. In either case, a morphine molecule binds with opioid receptors, inducing the subjective, opioid high.
The onset of heroin's effects depends upon the method of administration; orally, heroin is completely metabolized in vivo to morphine before crossing the blood-brain barrier; the effects are the same as with oral morphine. Snorting results in an onset within 3 to 5 minutes; smoking results in an almost immediate, 7 to 11 seconds, milder effect that strengthens; intravenous injection induces a rush and euphoria usually taking effect within 30 seconds; intramuscular and subcutaneous injection take effect within 3 to 5 minutes.
Heroin metabolizes into morphine, a μ-opioid (mu-opioid) agonist. It acts on endogenous μ-opioid receptors that are spread in discrete packets throughout the brain, spinal cord and gut in almost all mammals. Heroin, along with other opioids, are agonists to four endogenous neurotransmitters. They are β-endorphin, dynorphin, leu-enkephalin, and met-enkephalin. The body responds to heroin in the brain by reducing (and sometimes stopping) production of the endogenous opioids when heroin is present. Endorphins are regularly released in the brain and nerves, attenuating pain. Their other functions are still obscure, but are probably related to the effects produced by heroin besides analgesia (antitussin, anti-diarrheal). The reduced endorphin production in heroin users creates a dependence on the heroin, and the cessation of heroin results in extremely uncomfortable symptoms including pain (even in the absence of physical trauma). This set of symptoms is called withdrawal syndrome. It has an onset 6 to 8 hours after the last dose of heroin.
Large doses of heroin can be fatal. The drug can be used for suicide or as a murder weapon. The serial killer Dr Harold Shipman used it on his victims as did Dr John Bodkin Adams (see his victim, Edith Alice Morrell). It can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a heroin death was an accident, suicide or murder. The deaths of Joseph Krecker, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Layne Staley, and Bradley Nowell were such cases.

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