Heroin (H., Smack, Brown)

Injecting: The heroin is mixed with water and citric acid in a spoon and heated until it becomes a clear brown solution. The solution is drawn up in a syringe, often using a cigarette filter to filter out impurities. It can then be injected directly into a vein, muscle, or beneath the skin.

Inhaling (Chasing the Dragon):

Heroin is placed on a piece of tin foil and gently heated. If forms an oil that runs in lines on the foil, leaving a trail of black residue. As it evaporates, the resulting smoke is inhaled through a tin foil tube.

WHAT IS HEROIN?

Heroin is a painkilling drug made from the opium poppy.
Other opiates with a similar effect include morphine, codeine, methadone, palfium, diconal and pethadine.
Opiates are addictive or habit forming. Anybody who uses heroin regularly may experience:

tolerance: a need for larger doses to get the same effect.
withdrawal symptoms: running nose, sweats, chills and cramps if the drug is with withdrawn.
a powerful psychological craving for the drug.

HOW IS HEROIN USED?

Heroin can be sniffed, smoked or injected.
The effects are the same but each method has different risks.
Smoking is safer than sniffing. It enters the body gradually, so the dose can be more easily controlled.
Injecting is the riskiest method of taking heroin.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF INJECTING?

The dose reaches the brain almost immediately, increasing the possibility of overdose.
Impurities are introduced directly into the bloodstream. This can cause septacaemia and other infections.
Repeated injections damage the veins, leading to thrombosis and abscesses.
Sharing syringes can cause hepatitis and HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.

WHAT HELP IS AVAILABLE FOR HEROIN USERS?

Many people stop using heroin on their own, without help.
Withdrawal symptoms vary and rarely need medical help.
The worst thing may be the fear of withdrawal itself.
Symptoms subside after the first ten days or so.
There is a range of options available for those who need help including:

Advice and support during withdrawal.
Short-term medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Referral to hospital for an in-patient withdrawal.

For people who have tried to come off heroin many times and failed, there are other options.

Referral to residential rehabilitation units.

oLong term (maintenance) prescriptions of methadone.

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