The Dangers of Heroin Abuse
Uploaded by spootyhead on Mar 04, 2007
The Dangers of Heroin Abuse
Heroin, the narcotic derivative of the opium poppy plant, poses grave threat to our society. It is a highly addictive drug, and its presence and use is a serious problem in America. Heroin addiction causes crime as its result as well as danger to users, families, and others. As evidenced by crime and health reports, heroin is a clear and present danger to society due to its devastating health consequences, increasing abuse, and continuing expanded availability.
The by-product of this opiate drug is derived naturally and extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. It usually appears as a white or dark brown powder. Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste. Most heroin is distributed in powder form and may vary in color because of impurities left from the manufacturing process or the presence of additives. It is packaged for distribution in small, postage stamp sized plastic bags. They are sold individually for 10 dollars or 180 dollars for a "bundle" of 20. Street names include smack, H, junk, horse, and tar. Most users dissolve it in water, and then use a needle to inject it directly into a vein.
The effect of the powerful narcotic properties of heroin appears soon after a single dose and disappears in a few hours. After injecting heroin, the user reports feeling a surge of euphoria or "rush" accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin 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 its effects on the central nervous system.
Resulting long-term effects of heroin appear after repeated use. Chronic users develop collapsed veins, abscesses, bacterial infections, heart complications, including various types of blood and airborne infectious diseases. It follows that many heroin addicts are HIV positive or have AIDS. In addition, 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 these vital organs.
Heroin is very addictive. Consider as an illustration that with regular use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more, to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the...