Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of various opium poppy plants. Heroin often contains additives, such as sugar, starch, or powdered milk, that can clog blood vessels leading to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing permanent damage. Also, sharing drug injection equipment and having impaired judgment from drug use can increase the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis (see "Injection Drug Use, HIV, and Hepatitis"). Can a person overdose on heroin? Felix Hoffmann". Science History Institute. June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018 . Retrieved 18 March 2018.

Heroin Legal Status". Vaults of Erowid. Erowid. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012 . Retrieved 27 May 2012. If you do use heroin occasionally and do not wish to stop despite the risks, it is important to be vigilant and reactive to signs of dependence. Growing tolerance for heroin (needing more to feel the same effects) is an important warning sign of some of the changes in your brain chemistry that lead to cravings and withdrawal effects when you don’t use. a b "Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Access to Diacetylmorphine for Emergency Treatment)". Canada Gazette Directorate. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016 . Retrieved 19 September 2016. Strang J, Griffiths P, Gossop M (June 1997). "Heroin smoking by 'chasing the dragon': origins and history". Addiction. 92 (6): 673–83, discussion 685–95. doi: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1997.9266734.x. PMID 9246796. If there are no issues, you’ll usually live at home while you switch to maintenance therapy or go through detox.

Heroin Assisted Treatment for Opiate Addicts – The Swiss Experience". Parl.gc.ca. 31 March 1995. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010 . Retrieved 12 October 2013. After detox your key worker will carry on supporting you for at least 6 months to help you stay off heroin. Intravenous use of heroin (and any other substance) with needles and syringes or other related equipment may lead to: If you're addicted to heroin and want to stop, you can ask a GP or local drug treatment service for help.

WORLD DRUG REPORT" (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2012 . Retrieved 26 July 2012. Prescription heroin gets green light in Canada". CNN. 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016 . Retrieved 19 September 2016.There is also evidence that 6-MAM binds to a subtype of μ-opioid receptors that are also activated by the morphine metabolite morphine-6β-glucuronide but not morphine itself. [82] The third subtype of third opioid type is the mu-3 receptor, which may be a commonality to other six-position monoesters of morphine. The contribution of these receptors to the overall pharmacology of heroin remains unknown. Breecher E. "The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs". Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Diamorphine is produced from acetylation of morphine derived from natural opium sources, generally using acetic anhydride. [83] Smoking heroin refers to vaporizing it to inhale the resulting fumes, rather than burning and inhaling the smoke. It is commonly smoked in glass pipes made from glassblown Pyrex tubes and light bulbs. Heroin may be smoked from aluminium foil that is heated by a flame underneath it, with the resulting smoke inhaled through a tube of rolled up foil, a method also known as " chasing the dragon". [56] Insufflation

Wright CR (12 August 2003). "On the action of organic acids and their anhydrides on the natural alkaloids". Archived from the original on 6 June 2004. Note: this is an annotated excerpt of Wright CR (1874). "On the action of organic acids and their anhydrides on the natural alkaloids". Journal of the Chemical Society. 27: 1031–1043. doi: 10.1039/js8742701031.a b "Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP): Heroin Facts & Figures". Whitehousedrugpolicy.gov. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011 . Retrieved 20 July 2012. In Australia, diamorphine is listed as a schedule 9 prohibited substance under the Poisons Standard (October 2015). [114] The state of Western Australia, in its Poisons Act 1964 (Reprint 6: amendments as at 10 Sep 2004), described a schedule 9 drug as: "Poisons that are drugs of abuse, the manufacture, possession, sale or use of which should be prohibited by law except for amounts which may be necessary for educational, experimental or research purposes conducted with the approval of the Governor." [115] North America

Withdrawal symptoms include: sweating, depression, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, feelings of discomfort and unease, nausea and vomiting, and craving for heroin. Heroin withdrawal is very unpleasant which is a major reason why people addicted to heroin continue to use despite experiencing more and more harms, and less pleasure from use as time goes on. The head of Bayer's research department reputedly coined the drug's new name of "heroin", based on the German heroisch which means "heroic, strong" (from the ancient Greek word "heros, ήρως"). Bayer scientists were not the first to make heroin, but their scientists discovered ways to make it, and Bayer led the commercialization of heroin. [90]NMDA receptor antagonists (e.g., DXM, ketamine, methoxetamine, nitrous oxide, phencyclidine, inhalants) What is the scope of heroin use in the United States?". National Institute on Drug Abuse. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018 . Retrieved 10 December 2018. A number of European countries prescribe heroin for treatment of heroin addiction. [30] The initial Swiss HAT ( heroin-assisted treatment) trial ("PROVE" study) was conducted as a prospective cohort study with some 1,000 participants in 18 treatment centers between 1994 and 1996, at the end of 2004, 1,200 patients were enrolled in HAT in 23 treatment centers across Switzerland. [31] [32] Diamorphine may be used as a maintenance drug to assist the treatment of opiate addiction, normally in long-term chronic intravenous (IV) heroin users. It is only prescribed following exhaustive efforts at treatment via other means. It is sometimes thought that heroin users can walk into a clinic and walk out with a prescription, but the process takes many weeks before a prescription for diamorphine is issued. Though this is somewhat controversial among proponents of a zero-tolerance drug policy, it has proven superior to methadone in improving the social and health situations of addicts. [33] Howard G (18 September 2009). "Death of a Poet: Saying goodbye to Jim Carroll". Slate. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014 . Retrieved 2 January 2014. Injection, also known as "slamming", "banging", "shooting up", "digging" or "mainlining", is a popular method which carries relatively greater risks than other methods of administration. Heroin base (commonly found in Europe), when prepared for injection, will only dissolve in water when mixed with an acid (most commonly citric acid powder or lemon juice) and heated. Heroin in the east-coast United States is most commonly found in the hydrochloride salt form, requiring just water (and no heat) to dissolve. [ citation needed] Users tend to initially inject in the easily accessible arm veins, but as these veins collapse over time, users resort to more dangerous areas of the body, such as the femoral vein in the groin. Some medical professionals have expressed concern over this route of administration, as they suspect that it can lead to deep vein thrombosis. [54]