Heroin abuse
is associated with serious health conditions, including fatal Overdose,
spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and, particularly in users who
inject the Drug, infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.
The
short-term effects of heroin abuse appear soon after a single dose and
disappear in a few hours. After an injection of heroin, the user
reports feeling a surge of euphoria ("Rush") accompanied by a warm
flushing of the skin, a dry mouth, and heavy extremities. Following
this initial euphoria, the user goes "on the nod," an alternately
wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded due to the
depression of the Central nervous system. Long-term effects of heroin
appear after repeated use for some period of time. Chronic users may
develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves,
abscesses, cellulitis, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications,
including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health
condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin’s depressing effects on
respiration.
Heroin abuse during pregnancy and
its many associated environmental factors (e.g., lack of prenatal care)
have been associated with adverse consequences including low birth
weight, an important risk factor for later developmental delay.
In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have
additives that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood
vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can
cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs.
The Drug abuse Warning Network
lists heroin/Morphine among the four most frequently mentioned drugs
reported in drug-related death cases in 2002. Nationwide, heroin
emergency department mentions were statistically unchanged from 2001 to
2002, but have increased 35 percent since 1995.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. A condition characterized by a defect in the body's natural immunity to diseases. Individuals who suffer from it are at risk for severe illnesses that are usually not a threat to anyone whose immune system is working properly.
Addiction
Strong physiological, emotional and/or psychological dependence on a substance such as alcohol or drugs that has progressed beyond voluntary control. For more on addiction see the section Addiction Information in this website.
Central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord.
Chronic
Refers to a disease or condition that persists over a long period of time. Also a slang term for a particularly potent strain of marijuana.
Drug
Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
Drug abuse
The use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. The repeated use of drugs to produce pleasure, to alleviate stress, or to alter or avoid reality - or all three.
Hepatitis
Inflammation of the liver.
Heroin
The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
Long-term effects
The effects seen when a drug is used repeatedly over weeks, months, or years. These effects may outlast drug use.
Morphine
Morphine The most potent natural opiate compound produced by the opium poppy.
Overdose
The condition that results when too much of a drug is taken, making a person sick or unconscious and sometimes resulting in death.
Rush
A surge of pleasure that rapidly follows administration of some drugs.
