Heroin, Then Versus Now

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.

This paper is intended to educate those who almost nothing about heroin and those who use it. Many people have been associated with friends or families who have used some kind of drug. There are many people who have not had any contact with heroin users or if they have, don’t understand much about it. Using various sources about heroin to explain where it came from, how it is used, who uses it and how a person starts on the path towards heroin, preventing addiction, and global issues surrounding this drug. Although the topic of heroin is inexhaustible, it is my hope to spark reader’s curiosity. Knowledge of this drug might just help the reader join in on discussions about heroin.

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.

This literature review will focus mainly on the drug use of heroin, the scary numbers behind the drug and the sudden rise of overdosing on the drug across the United States. Issues that will be discussed are what is Heroin, what’s in Heroin that makes it addicting, how it can increase the users risk of contracting other life threatening diseases and where it’s use and abuse are most popular across the United states and we will take a look at multiple studies that show examples of our new drug problem in the United States. While we looked at how homicide rates have dropped while in class, the flip side to that is that the amount of drug usage has risen.

Heroin was initially created by Charles Wright in 1874 to combat Morphine addiction amongst Civil War soldiers. The commercial production of heroin began in 1898, by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Company, and their “sales pitch” persuaded people that Heroin was a “safe, non-addictive” substitute for morphine, therefore, gaining popularity amongst healthcare professionals and their morphine addicted patients. As a result, numerous

Heroin is a drug most children grow up learning about as being one of the worst things you can do. Being young, a child could never imagine doing something to them that is harmful. Yet here we are, at home, right in Northeast Ohio with the biggest heroin epidemic in history. Heroin is essentially a pain blocker. It turns into morphine when it enters the brain. Is this why it is so popular, or is it because this drug is becoming cheaper and cheaper? The answer is both. Heroin offers users a cheap, quick fix to temporarily numb themselves. With its growing popularity, this drug needs to be stopped. The Heroin and Opioid Epidemic Northeast Ohio Community Action Plan is currently a working draft that will

Since the 19th century, the illicit drug, heroin, has been a part of American society. When heroin was first discovered it was thought to be a wonder drug because of the euphoric feeling a person is said to feel after using it. However, once the debilitating effects of this highly addictive drug was realized the anti-drug law, the Harrison Narcotics Act, was enacted that restricted its use to medicinal purposes only. In 1920, heroin was banned altogether through the Dangerous Drug Act (Habal, 2011). Heroin for the most part was thought to have gone underground until the Vietnam War.

Heroin has been a quiet crisis on the rise over the last few decades, wreaking havoc on communities and families. Hesitance to talk about the heroin crisis makes it difficult to fight the growing trend of abuse. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, the increase of heroin abuse has risen 80 percent since 2002 (Jones). The medical effects of addicts abusing their bodies and neglecting their health are a variety of medical conditions. A short term abuser may experience depressed respiration, distorted mental functioning, nausea and vomiting (Volkow). The long term effects of heroin abuse can be addiction, infectious disease as in HIV, hepatitis B and C, collapsed veins, bacterial infections, abscesses and infection of the heart

Often referred to as the “devil’s drug”, heroin in today’s society holds responsibility as one of the top killers next to murder, suicide, and car accidents. From 2002 to 2013, the number of deaths by heroin has quadrupled. In 2007, approximately 2,000 lives were taking by heroin, and these numbers increased to 8,000 by 2013. Heroin has affected thousands of people lives and killed many at an alarming rate; it now holds a spot as an epidemic in the United States. In a poem by an anonymous author, the effects of heroin are described explicitly, “If you try me, be warned this is no game. If given the chance, I’ll drive you insane. I’ll ravish your body; I’ll control your mind. I’ll own you completely; your soul will be mine.” Thousands of

Heroin is named after the German word for hero, heroisch. It was first made by C. R. Alder Wright in 1874 by adding two acetyl groups to the molecule morphine, a natural product of the opium poppy. Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates, about two to four times more potent than morphine and is faster in its onset of action. It is processed from morphine which is a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky

Heroin was first produced in 1898 in Germany, by Bayer Pharmaceutical Company as a substitute for morphine.6 It was marketed as a non-addictive miracle drug, to use as a cough syrup and pain reliever, but 12 years later it was discovered that heroin was about two times as potent as morphine.5-6 Today, we know heroin as a highly addictive narcotic which has played its part in the worst opioid crisis in the history of British Colombia.2 Heroin is an opioid made from the resin of poppy plants which contain morphine.1 The drug itself can be a white or brown powder or a black goo.1 It is commonly mixed with water and injected with a needle right into the body, but can also be smoked or snorted up the nose.1,3 These methods send it very quickly to

Heroin, derived from morphine, is classified in the opioid family of painkilling drugs, made from the opium poppy plant, specifically the opium from the sap of the plant which is harvested from the seed pods after the flower falls off. The opium poppy is generally grown in Southeast Asia, Mexico, the Middle East and parts of Central and South America (Weintraub 16). Opium was used in the past in countries such as Egypt as a “cure-all” drug and a poison; It was then sold to parts of China and used as a recreational drug that had many users addicted and ruined their lives (Weintraub 16-17). A majority of the heroin in the United States today is smuggled in from South America and Mexico, and is coming over in record amounts

Heroin is a powerful narcotic and is illegal in most parts of the world. This drug is obtained from poppy opium plants. The farming of heroin can most likely be found in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Central America, South America, and Mexico. Since the 1980’s

Heroin was invented in the 1895. (“Opium Throughout History”) It was a new concoction based on morphine, similar to the then popular laudanum, and was initially meant to be used as a cheaper medical substitute at the time. Heroin was never successfully brought into the medical fold, but was popular as a recreational drug almost immediately. Opiates, in one form or another, have been used for medical pain relief and recreationally since as early as 3400 BC. (“Opium throughout History”) Throughout the history of opium, control, regulation, trade, and addiction have been struggles for every society and civilization, starting with the Egyptians, hitting the Romans, the Chinese, and the Portuguese on the way, and continues to be a struggle in every modern society in the world. (“World Drug Report 2010”)

For at least two centuries different morphine and opium derived tinctures were sold by various pharmaceutical companies. It wasn’t until 1898 when a morphine derived cough suppressant named heroin was created that a problem with such opiates arose. Within a short time heroin's addictive nature affected around three hundred thousand people in the U.S. Soon opiate based medications would be banned unless for medical use. In 1916 two German Scientist synthesized what they thought was a non-addictive replacement for narcotics like heroin. This drug would be known as oxycodone. Oxycodone is an odorless, white, crystalline powder derived from the opium alkaloid, thebaine. Its molecular formula is C18 H21NO4. Although it was brought to America in 1939, it wasn’t until 1950 that it became a popular drug for use. This happened when it was combined with aspirin into Percodan which quickly became a highly abused drug. However, people would still frequently look toward oxycodone for the treatment of chronic pain. 1966 was a big year for Purdue Pharma when they released OxyContin, a pure oxycodone tablet with a time release base which would hopefully prevent abuse. This drug soon earned the nickname “Hillbilly Heroin” and a mass breakout of overdoses and arrests