What It Is: Heroin is a highly addictive drug produced when a naturally occurring substance is extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. It usually appears as a white or brownish powder. Slang/street names include Smack, H, Skag, and junk.
Type of Drug: Narcotic
Method of Use: Snorted or injected
What It Does: The short-term effects of heroin use appear soon after a single dose and disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user reports a surge of euphoria (feeling of happiness) referred to as a “rush” accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following the initial euphoria, the user goes “on the nod,” an alternately wakeful and drowsy state.
Health Risks: Heroin users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin’s depressing effects on respiration. In addition to the effects of the drug itself, heroin may have additives that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death. Lastly, heroin abuse is associated with serious health conditions, including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, caused by sharing needles with other infected users.
Legal Status: Illegal in the United States
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