Heroin Addiction Research Paper

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.

Heroin, a white powder, was created in 1874, and was sold as a safe substitute for morphine. However, it was discovered that heroin produced a quick dependency in people. Heroin and other opiates were made illegal in 1920 as part of the Dangerous Drugs Act. Still today, however, Heroin is illegally manufactured and imported, largely from the Indian sub-continent.

Chronic use of the drug can cause collapsed veins from injection, heart infections, abscesses, constipation, gastrointestinal cramping, and liver disease. Street heroin is known to contain additives that can clog the blood vessels that may lead to the lungs or brain. This can lead to infection in the cells of vital organs. If used heavily and then stopped, withdrawal symptoms will occur, causing the user to become restless, have drug cravings, muscle and bone pain, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes, insomnia, and kicking movements. Withdrawal symptoms typically occur between 24 to 48 hours after the user's last dosage and usually subside after a week (Types of Prescription

People should know what they are getting themselves in if they are going to choose to go through this bumpy road in life. There are so many consequences that can come from heroin so make sure you are ready to face them. You are harming yourself and the people around you so make sure you inform yourself on what can come from heroin.

Heroin addicts have the psychological dependence on heroin that leads them into the state of self-destruction and the possibility of leading to death by the extreme use of heroin. Never estimate the poppy flower for its power that withholds the fiends to their mentality enduring the euphoria enslavement of the mind that contained for many centuries. The heroin addiction nation is a self numbing injection and dry approach to have the mind under the state of the greatest feeling of great happiness leaving the pain behind under the spell of heroin. Heroin comes in many forms for addicts to enjoy in their own way. They come in powder and rock like form that is combined with other narcotics. The snorting form for heroin is not

In a short term perspective the user talks about a “rush” of pleasure. Depending on the the intensity of the rush show how fast the drug enters the brain and binds to the MORs. With heroin, the rush can be associated with flush and warm skin, heavy sensation of extremities, reduced feeling of pain, and drowsiness. Sometimes these effects can also come with vomiting, itching and dry mouth. After several hours of the initial effects the user body slows. This includes the heart, mind and breathing, which can be life threatening. (What Effects) If slowed enough the user could fall into a coma causing severe brain damage.

Withdrawal symptoms can include muscle and bone pain, sleep problems, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps, uncontrollable leg movements, severe heroin cravings (“Heroin”).

Starting in Afganhistan's opium farms, heroin made it big, being one of the most used (but equally illegal) drugs out there, costing up to more than £20,000 per kilo. However, the legalness of the drug is no concern for the farmers, dealers or sellers. They grow poppies which produce the opium needed as a key ingrediant for heroin. They grow the ingrediants to make money, this is because opium sells for more than wheat, carrots or potatoes do.

The portrait of a heroin addict. Images emerge of a homeless junkie huddled in the corner of a subway seat at 3:00am feening for his next hit. Or the drug addict laid out on a New York City bench, just skin and bones, with syringes littering the ground below. What probably does not come to mind is a picture of the perky cheerleader rooting her team on to victory at a Friday night football game, nor does a vision of the mother of three living in the suburbs with her husband working for a Fortune 500 company in her Executive position. However, these are some of the real people who are falling victim to the temptation of heroin on a daily basis. Heroin deaths are surging amongst suburban whites and the impact of the drug has taken a devastating turn. The heroin epidemic in the United States is entering a new stage in the war on drugs.

The United States is in the grips of one of the worst heroin epidemics in its history, due in part to a flood of cheap doses of the drug. In some regions, heroin is deemed "highly available" by local police in more than three times the number of communities as it was just seven years ago. This drug has taken many lives in the past and it is now becoming very popular again. The resurgence of the deadly drug has sparked a flurry of action from governors' mansions and statehouses across New England. The addiction of this drug is devastating and the deaths are rising.

The word opium comes from the Greek word opion meaning “poppy juice.” Opium refers to the dried latex that is obtained from scratching the seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum).

People who used heroin often did so in dark alleys in shady parts of town but that has changed over the past decade. “In the past decade, the “heroin addict look”-blank expression, waxy complexion, dark circles under the eyes, sunken cheeks, excessive thinness, greasy hair-was promoted in popular magazines and fashion circles as “chic” (Foundation for a Drug-Free World, 2006-2016). Heroin use has spread into the suburbs and rich neighborhoods and the addicts are getting younger and younger each day. Heroin addicts often lie to their family and friends to get money to pay for their habits. They turn tricks and steal to get the money to support their habit. Heroin can cause lung damage, heart damage, kidney failure, and difficulty with your mind and ability to think. Some symptoms that a heroin addict may experience are dry mouth and flush skin. Their pupils may be constricted and they may experience itching, nausea, and vomiting. Heroin users may nod off suddenly and their breathing will be slowed. The addict is often unware of the damage being done to their body and life. They begin to neglect their needs and may not eat properly or take care of

Opium is a natural product from a poppy plant called the Papaver somniferum. This plant is an annual plant. After the plant blooms, the petals fall off the seed pod. If the seed pod is cut, a white sap oozes from the pod. Once the sap is exposed to air, it turns dark brown. This darkened sap is called opium. Opium can be smoked or chewed to obtain a spectrum of pharmacological effects. Cultivation of the poppy plant can be traced back to early years of human civilization. Opium use was well known in ancient Mesopotamia by the Sumerians around 3000 B.C. Opium cultivation spread to the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Egyptians. Opium was introduced to China and East Asia in the sixth or seventh century A.D. through trade.

Heroin addiction is a growing problem in this country that does not discriminate. Heroin addiction affects people of all ages, sexes, races, and income. Those that are addicted to the drug, find it difficult to break free because it has a very strong physical hold on their body. The fact is that the drug rewires their brain, making their pleasure dependent on the drug. Consequently, going through drug withdrawal is a very painful process for the person addicted to heroin. The best course of action is to gradually reduce the amount of the drug taken, until they are able to physically cope without the drug.

Heroin is processed from the poppy plant. The Opium poppy had been cultivated and marketed for thousands of years. It was used first in religious ceremonies and for early medicinal purposes but at that time it was not synthesized as heroin. Heroin was originally produced in a chemist lab back in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright.1 At that time the production of heroin was in response to the demand for the need of a non-addictive pain killer. The substance was produced but sat dormant for a number of years. It was not until several years later that heroin was marketed by the German company, Bayer. An employee, Heinrich Dreser, suggested the substance would be a valuable ingredient in cough medicines,