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| Heroin and Narcotics |
What Is Heroin?
Sometimes called black tar, mud, smack, junk, China white or Mexican brown,
heroin is responsible for the greatest number of drug-related deaths among
young people.
 It accounts for 90 percent of the opiate abuse in the United States.
Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Street heroin's color may
vary. The color indicates the amount of impurities left from the manufacturing
or the presence of food coloring, cocoa or sugar. Heroin can be sniffed or
injected. Some dealers mix heroin with amphetamines, "achiva," and package it
in tablets. Crack addicts mix it with crack and smoke the mixture.
Effects Of Heroin?
Heroin tends to relax the user. When
heroin is injected, the user feels an immediate "rush." Other initial, but
unpleasant effects include restlessness, nausea and vomiting. The user may go
back and forth from feeling alert to very drowsy. With very large doses, the
user cannot be awakened, the pupils become smaller and the skin becomes cold,
moist, and bluish in color. Breathing slows down and death may follow. The
physical dangers of heroin depend on the amount used, the source, and the way
it is used. Like other illegal drugs, heroin affects the brain. It slows the
bodily functions, including breathing and heartbeat, which can lead to instant
death. Over time, heroin users may develop infections of the heart lining and
valves, skin abscesses, and congested lungs. Heroin addicts normally inject the
drug, which means they run the risk of infection from shared or dirty needles.
Diseases commonly found among heroin addicts include blood poisoning, HIV
infection, hepatitis, tetanus, liver disease, syphilis, and malaria. AIDS/HIV
infection is now one of the leading infective diseases among intravenous users.
Why has Heroin popularity grown?
 Drugs always reflect the era in which they achieve their popularity;
in the late 1960s and early 1970s, LSD was the drug of choice. Its supposed
ability to raise one's awareness appealed to the spiritual ideals of the
hippies. It was the drug for tuning in and dropping out, of passively revolting
against the system, and for becoming self- aware. In the 1980s, cocaine was the
drug for promoting self-confidence, increasing social standing, and creating
energy to keep up with the fast-paced lives of young yuppies. The culture of
heroin is different. It is a drug of isolation and oblivion - even pain. First
time users normally vomit. Injecting heroin is in keeping with the nineties
generation's need for self-mutilation, body piercing, and tattoos. Addicts
experience excruciating pain if they don't take heroin. The pointlessness of
heroin, its invitation to oblivious solitude, and its danger make it the drug
of choice of today's popular culture. Today, young people are consumed with
doubts about themselves and look for self-confidence and self-worth in ways
that are, unfortunately, deadly. Heroin's ultimate appeal is a paradox - it's
the fashionable way of being alienated and "with-it" at the same time. Heroin
is the most dangerous of narcotics. During the 1970s and 1980s, heroin was
considered a hard-core drug. Today, due to its low cost, heroin is not only on
college campuses, but also in high schools. Headlines cry out about the latest
suicide of a young up and coming artist or screen actor due to overdose or, in
the case of singer Kurt Cobain, suicide because of his heroin addiction.
What Are Narcotics?
Narcotics are drugs
derived from the resin of the Asian poppy plant. These drugs control the severe
pain from serious wounds. Doctors prescribe narcotics to relieve intense pain
or suppress coughs. Narcotics derived from the poppy include opium, morphine,
heroin and codeine. Other narcotics, such as Meperidine, are manufactured
synthetically. Narcotics work as pain relievers because they act on the opioid
receptors in the endorphin neurotransmitters of the brain. Opioid receptors are
found throughout the brain, spinal cord, nervous system, and intestines.
Because narcotics enhance the opioid system by stimulating the receptors, these
drugs suppress pain perception.
What Is Opium?
The opium
poppy is the source of natural narcotic drugs. All of these drugs are
painkillers - and all are addictive. The opium poppy grows in the hot, dry
climates of Turkey, China, India, Iran and Mexico. Sap from the seedpods is
collected to make raw opium.
What Is Morphine?
Morphine
is the main drug derived from opium. It is the most effective drug known for
relieving pain. Morphine, the active ingredient in most narcotic drugs,
controls pain and creates a sense of euphoria. It relaxes muscles, decreases
physical activity, and relieves pain and nervousness. During the Civil War,
morphine was widely used on wounded soldiers to ease pain. However, so many men
became addicted to it that laws were enacted to limit its use. In limited
amounts, morphine and other legal opiates are still used in prescription
medicines. One such opiate is paregoric, which is used to treat diarrhea.
Another is codeine, which is used in cough medicines. Unfortunately, codeine
and morphine have become part of the illegal drug trade and are widely abused.
What Is Methadone?
Methadone Hydrochloride is an opioid
(a synthetic opiate) that was originally synthesized by the German
pharmaceutical company Axis during the Second World War. It was first marketed
as 'Dolophine' (to honour Adolph Hitler) and was used as an analgesic (a
painkiller) for the treatment of severe pain. It is still occasionally used for
pain relief, although it is more widely used now as a substitute drug for
people addicted to other opiates (primarily heroin). Today, methadone is used
by treatment centers throughout the United States to help heroin addicts during
withdrawal. Differing from other narcotics, methadone's effects last up to 24
hours, permitting a dose of the drug once a day. However, methadone is very
addictive. In fact, some studies indicate that it is as addictive as heroin and
the withdrawal is many times worse.
What Is Meperidine?
Meperidine (Demerol) is a synthetic narcotic that is frequently
used by doctors to treat pain. Meperidine can be taken in tablet form or
injected. Meperidine is about one-tenth the strength of morphine. Tolerance to
the drug develops very rapidly. Because of the increasing strength needed to
mask pain, addiction to Meperidine occurs quickly. What Is Ketamine? Ketamine
Hydrochloride (Ketaset) is an anesthetic often used by veterinarians during
surgery. Ketamine, usually sold on the streets in either a powder or liquid, is
sometimes sold falsely under the name Ecstasy. Ketamine is usually mixed with
other drugs such as ephedrine, caffeine, or PCP. Low doses produce a relaxed
feeling, but higher doses cause a feeling of separation from the body. Ketamine
can be extremely dangerous, especially if mixed with alcohol or other drugs.
Ketamine's side effects include nausea, vomiting, elevated blood pressure and
pulse rate, and depressed breathing. use paranoia and panic. Paranoid users may
hurt themselves or others. Because the active ingredients in these drugs are
chemically related to LSD, their side effects are similar. |
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