Transforming Opium Poppies Into Heroin

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.

Cocaine (coke) is made from the Erythroxylon coca plant, a coca tree that grows high in the Andes Mountains of South America. The coca farmers' purpose is to pick and

Cocaine is a naturally occurring substance deriving from the Erythroxylum coca plant. The coca plant is autogenous to Indonesia, South America, Mexico and the West Indies. Historically, many cultures have utilized coca leaves for religious and ceremonial applications. Cocaine itself remains prevalent in literary and artist works of many cultures and continues to be represented in archeological finds around the world. In South America the leaves were often chewed to help the indigenous tribes overcome hunger. To many other civilizations it was considered a sacred gift from the gods. Cocaine was often used as local anesthetic for a plethora of ailments.

The coca leaf does not yield the potency to deliver any type of overwhelming effect. The coca leaf in natural form gives the similar effect that a well caffeinated cup of coffee would (Arts and Entertainment Network). It wasn’t until Albert Niemann, a German scientist, extracted and processed the coca leaf ingredients, would it become a potent drug. In 1860, Niemann would rename the results of his extraction, cocaine (Arts and Entertainment Network).

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

Grown in the countries of South America, with Columbia being the most productive, the Erythroxylon Coca bush is the natural origin of cocaine, a central nervous stimulant. Its history is as rich and diverse as the people using and dealing the drug.

Ancient Incas chewed the leaves of the coca plant to combat the effects of living in a mountainous region where air was thin. Cocaine as we know it was first synthesized in 1859 by a German Chemist named Albert Neirmann,(http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/a-short-history.html) although it wasn’t until the late 1860’s that the medical community began using it as a general anesthetic and numbing agent

Today, the drug cocaine is widely known for its recreational uses, as well as its addictive properties. Roughly 500 hundred years ago the coca leaf was introduced to Europe. Cocaine, the pure substance that comes from a particular species of the coca leaf, has evolved from traditional usage in the indigenous community of the Andes to the highly illegal consumption in America. Plowman (1989) a taxonomist from the botany department in the museum of natural history of Chicago explains that dried coca leaf has been used as a mild stimulant for centuries. The variety of species of Erythroxylum extends to about 200 varieties. Most species grow on the tropical area of the Eastern

The shrubs and plants from which both drugs are derived from and processed has been well known in Colombia for centuries, but until the 1970s drug refiners and traffickers had not taken full advantage. The chewing of coca

Heroin abuse is a growing concern in the United States, particularly in young adults. Heroin, produced from morphine, is a highly addictive and fast acting opiate. Opiates are used for treating pain, and are derived from opium, which comes from the poppy plant. They provide people with a sense of intense euphoria, which is partly why they are so addictive. Because heroin is so addictive, especially in comparison to other drugs, it leads to many deaths due to overdoses. This topic is increasingly important because heroin usage not only leads to death, but often leads to diseases like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and others, creating more public health issues.

Cocaine is a drug that comes from the coca plant .It is usually mixed with other drugs like

Cocaine has been around for many years and was legal in South America. In tribes in South America cocaine was used commonly. Scientist discovered that when a person died and became a mummy, cocaine could be discovered in their hair and remain there after death (west, page 25). Many old drawings also show that the people of the Moche tribe in South Africa were chewing cocaine (West, page 25). While chewing their cheeks would be full with the leaves.Also this drug took a role in religious ceremonies, for example funerals. The tribes using cocaine got taken over by the Inca Empire(West, Page 25). In the 1400s the royals were the only ones to use it and for special rituals. They figured out that there were some visual and physical powers to cocaine. They thought that cocaine was a gift from gods or goddesses

Erythroxylum coca, is a shrub that is native to the lands of Southern and Central America, and Southeast Asia (1). During the mid-1800s, German chemist Albert Niemann discovered and isolated the harmful drug, cocaine, from E. coca (2). Shortly after its discovery, companies such as the Coca-Cola Company used cocaine to add flavor to their carbonated beverages (3). Back then, cocaine was actually present in just about everything from ointments to margarine. Cocaine was even used medically as a pain alleviator due to its soothing properties. However, a type of wine called Vin Mariani was the most popular of drinks because it contained approximately 6 milligrams of cocaine per ounce. A typical serving of wine is 4-5 ounces so that means one serving

Because of Peru was the best exporter of cocaine in 2013, I want to add, that the cocaine was invented by German student in the 19th century, when he isolated the active form from coca leaves. Then the cocaine was used in the medical field as anestheticum, in the toothpastes and also in the popular drink Coca Cola. Nowadays, in lots of Peruvian restaurant you still can find a tea made from coca leaves. No, you won’t be high from it.

Erythroxylum coca is a plant native to the Andean region in South America. However that is not the only place that it is grown. It is also grown in Mexico, India, Tanzania, Madagascar, other parts of Africa, and in some places in Asia including Indonesia.