Heroin
Nicknames:
H, horse, skag, junk, smack, brown, dragon, gear, etc.
What does it look like?
Heroin can come in three forms, a white, off-white or brown powder.
How it is used:
Snorted, smoked, swallowed or injected.
The highs:
Heroin is a powerful painkiller, which depresses the nervous system and prevents the brain and body from feeling all sorts of pain, so small doses gives the user a short burst of intense euphoria, most often compared to sexual orgasm, then followed by a sense of warm and pleasant relaxation. Larger doses can make them drowsy, content, safe and relaxed.
The lows:
The experience can vary from user to user, however the short-term effects can include vomiting, drowsiness and constipation. As it's highly addictive, long-term effects include a loss of sex drive, loss of energy and a lack of lust for life. Sharing injecting equipment can increase the risk of contracting HIV and Hepatitis B & C. Also because heroin is mixed with lots of other things, there is no way of knowing how strong it is so there is a risk of overdose.
When users stop taking heroin, withdrawal effects in a dependent person normally begin around eight hours after the last dose, which causes the user to become anxious, restless, feeling an intense desire for another hit. Then there follows sweating, streaming of the eyes and nose, abdominal cramps, waves of nausea, trembling, deep aching in the bones and muscles, feeling of terror and insomnia. The skin turns pale and clammy, becoming covered in goose bumps (cold turkey) and the body spasms causing the legs to twitch. There may also be fits or a confused state with delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms can peak over two or three days, fading over a fortnight.
The law:
Heroin is a Class A drug (see Drugs - The Law for more information).
Contacts
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Other drugs:
- alcohol
- amphetamines
- anabolic steroids
- cannabis
- cocaine
- crack
- ecstasy
- GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate)
- heroin
- ketamine
- khat
- LSD
- mushrooms
- poppers
- rohypnol
- solvents
- tobacco
- tranquillisers
Reproduced with kind permission of NHS Direct Wales - www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk/theroom
