Heroin Detox Rehab » About Heroin

History of Heroin

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:53:55 +0000

Although poppy plants have existed as far back as 3400 B.C., the use of these plants did not begin to spread across the world until the 19th century. C.R. Alder Wright, a chemist, created heroin in 1874 by creating a concentrated form of morphine. Twenty-three years later, heroin became more well-known when a chemist working for the Bayer Company, Hoffman, attempted to synthesize the compound in hopes of creating a drug that was effective in relieving pain without the addictive qualities that morphine possesses. However, they ended up creating a drug that was twice as potent as the standard morphine and just as addictive.

Expansion and Restriction of Heroin Use

Although heroin was addictive, it was originally marketed it as a non-addictive morphine substitute. It was also used on children as a cough suppressant. They discontinued this practice once they found out that heroin turns back into morphine when it enters the body. In the 1914 Narcotics Act, the government restricted the selling of heroin to only medical purposes. With this act, recreational use was still easily taking place. However, there were several more laws that eventually led to heroin becoming illegal altogether in the United States.

Heroin Overview

Heroin is made from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian opium poppy plant.

Heroin is a synthetic opiate drug that is highly addictive. It only takes a few hits to become addicted to heroin. An addict has to take heroin multiple times a day because the effects of withdrawal occur very quickly. It is made from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian opium poppy plant. Heroin enters the brain, where it is converted to morphine and binds to receptors known as opioid receptors.

The opioid receptors are located in many areas of the brain. Since they are found in the area that deals with perception of pain, heroin is sometimes used under the name of diamorphine in some hospitals to reduce fever and pain. Opioid receptors are also located in the brain stem, which is important for breathing, blood pressure and arousal. After an injection of heroin, users feel a surge of euphoria, which is known as a “rush.” Following the initial “rush,” the user goes “on the nod,” an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded. If heroin is not injected, the user may not feel the intense “rush,” but the other effects will be there.

Heroin Treatment Options

Because of the nature of heroin abuse, it is difficult to quit using without professional help. The effects of withdrawal that an addict will go through when quitting are very intense and unpleasant. Some of the effects include:

Vomiting
Irritability
Anxiety
Loss of appetite
Hot and cold flashes
Aches
Fever
Rapid breathing
Diarrhea
Dehydration

However, there are drugs that can help reduce these symptoms during detox. Methadone and buprenorphine are usually administered by physicians during a detox period.

After a user goes through detox, they also should seek help from a rehab facility in order to get the continued watch and counseling necessary to beat the addiction. A patient who only goes through heroin detox is more likely to relapse.

Get Help for Heroin Addiction

If you or a loved one is addicted to heroin, it is important to seek help. Once addicted, the effects are devastating. But, there is hope. If you are interested in receiving information on heroin detox or rehab, please call our toll free number at (866) 872-6491. All calls are private and confidential.

Facts About Heroin

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:25:18 +0000

How Heroin Works

Heroin enters the brain, where it is converted to morphine and binds to receptors known as opioid receptors. The opioid receptors are located in many areas of the brain. Since they are found in the area that deals with

Heroin is a highly addictive drug.

perception of pain, heroin is sometimes used under the name of diamorphine in some hospitals to reduce fever and pain. Opioid receptors are also located in the brain stem, which is important for breathing, blood pressure, and arousal. After an injection of heroin, users feel a surge of euphoria, which is known as a “rush.” Following the initial “rush”, the user goes “on the nod,” an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded. If heroin is not injected, the user may not feel the intense “rush,” but the other effects will be there.

How to Take Heroin

Heroin can be injected, snorted/sniffed, or smoked. These are the quickest ways for the drug to go to the brain.

Injecting uses a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. It is not the fastest way, but delivers the greatest high.
Snorting is the process of inhaling heroin powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues.
Smoking involves inhaling heroin smoke into the lungs. The high when smoking is almost immediate, but it is less intense. It is more of a calm buzz than a consuming high.

All three methods of administering heroin can lead to addiction and other severe health problems.

Heroin Health Problems

Using heroin can lead to many long-term as well as short-term problems.

If a user shares needles for injecting heroin, they could contract AIDS or hepatitis from a dirty needle. When a user is addicting to injecting heroin, they can also develop collapses veins.
In addition to the drug itself, street heroin often includes additives (these are often toxic) that could clog the blood vessels that lead to the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, etc causing permanent damage to vital organs. A user could develop an infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and liver or kidney disease.
If the user is pregnant, it could lead to several complications during birth: miscarriage, losing the baby during infancy, premature delivery, breathing difficulties, hypoglycemia, bleeding in the brain, or the baby could even be born dependant on the drug. The drug passes through the placenta, so the baby is exposed to the drug as often as the expecting mother is.
The user could also suffer from a fatal overdose. However, if the overdose becomes fatal, typically the heroin would be mixed with some other drug or alcohol.

Heroin Treatment Options

Because of the nature of heroin addiction, it is difficult to quit using without professional help. The effects of withdrawal that an addict will go through when quitting are very intense and unpleasant. Some of the effects are vomiting, irritability, anxiety, loss of appetite, hot and cold flashes, aches, fever, rapid breathing, diarrhea, and dehydration. However, there are drugs that can help reduce these symptoms during detox. Methadone and buprenorphine are usually administered by physicians during a detox period.

If you or a loved one is addicted to heroin, it is important to seek help. Once addicted, the effects are devastating. Most lose their jobs, dreams, and ambitions. In some cases, it only takes one shot to become addicted. But, there is hope. If you are interested in receiving information on heroin detox or rehab, please call the toll free number at (866) 872-6491.

What is Heroin?

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:17:35 +0000

Heroin is a highly addictive illegal drug that has become a serious problem in the U.S., particularly over the last 30 years. Opium, from which heroin is derived, first became widespread in America during the early 1800s as the common pain killer morphine. In the late 1800s, heroin was invented and originally marketed as a safe substitute for morphine, which had been discovered to be addictive. Heroin was sold legally by pharmacies nationwide for decades until it became clear that it was even more addictive and destructive than morphine and the U.S. congress banned it with the Dangerous Drug Act of 1920.

The American market for heroin, however, has only grown since then. One of the factors that is causing the recent growth in U.S. heroin addiction is that the drug is more pure and less expensive than ever before. In the 1970s, a bag of heroin cost $30 and the average heroin user was a 28 to 30 year old urban resident. Today, the same amount of heroin costs just $4 and the average addict is a white, middle-class teenager.

How is Heroin Abused?

Since today’s heroin is so pure, it can be smoked or snorted, although injection remains the most common means of consumption. When injecting, the addict will a use a needle to release the drug directly into the

Heroin Addict using the drug

bloodstream. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria (seven to eight seconds), while intramuscular injection produces a relatively slow onset of euphoria (five to eight minutes). Snorting is the process of inhaling heroin powder through the nose, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Smoking involves inhaling heroin smoke into the lungs. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. NIDA researchers have confirmed that all forms of heroin administration are addictive. All three methods of administering heroin can lead to addiction and other severe health problems.

Sources of Heroin

The heroin that is available in the U.S. today is supplied completely from foreign sources of opium. The heroin that is on the U.S. market originates in four distinct parts of the world: Mexico, South America (mostly Colombia), Southeast Asia (mostly Burma), and Southwest Asia (mostly Afghanistan). A majority of the heroin that is used in the United States started out as poppies grown in Colombia and Mexico. Most of the heroin sold in the western United States comes from Mexico and most of the heroin found in the eastern U.S. is Colombian.

Worldwide, however, these countries produce less than 4 percent of the total opium gum available. Columbia, in particular, has seen its heroin production cut in the last few years, with a 60 percent drop since 2001. Colombian law enforcement eradicated 375 hectares of opium poppy in 2007 and the Mexican government reported eradicating 7,784 hectares of opium poppy during that same time.

Heroin Dependency

Heroin abuse is associated with serious health conditions including fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, and—particularly in users who inject the drug—infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Chronic users may develop:

Collapsed veins
Infection of the heart lining and valves
Abscesses
Liver or kidney disease
ulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health of the abuser, as well as from heroin’s depressing effects on respiration

In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin often contains toxic contaminants or additives that can clog the blood vessels leading to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing permanent damage to vital organs.

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, they may experience severe symptoms of withdrawal. These symptoms, which can begin as early as a few hours after the last drug administration include:

Restlessness
Muscle and bone pain
Insomnia
Diarrhea and vomiting
Cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”)
Kicking movements (“kicking the habit”)

Users also experience severe craving for the drug during withdrawal, precipitating continued abuse and/or relapse. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and typically subside after about a week; however, some individuals may show persistent withdrawal symptoms for months. Although heroin withdrawal is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal, sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal.

Heroin Treatment

If you or someone you love is suffering from heroin addiction, we are here to help. You can call our toll free number at (866) 872-6491 and have all your questions about heroin rehab and treatment answered. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you break free from addiction.