Facts To Know About Heroin Addiction
Heroin is extremely habit forming and a very fast acting opiate (a drug which is based on opium). More specifically, heroin is created from morphine, which is a primary component of opium.
Opium is a naturally occurring compound which is obtained from the seedpod of the opium poppy. The physical appearance of heroin can differ considerably, typically, the more pure the actual heroin the whiter the shade, mainly because distinctions in coloration result from the inclusion of impurities.
Within the eastern side of the U. S., heroin typically is marketed as a powder which is white colored (or off-white) in coloration. In the western side of the U. S., the vast majority of heroin offered is a solid substance which is black in coloration. This kind of heroin, referred to as black tar, can be sticky (similar to tar) or hard to the touch. Powdered heroin having a dirty brownish color is also available within the western side. So, no matter where you travel in the US, there is most likely heroin use and abuse happening.
At What Age Do People Try Heroin?
People of every age group have tried heroin; data documented in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reveal that an approximated 3,091,000 United States residents aged 12 and older have tried heroin at least one time within their lifetime. The study in addition pointed out that quite a few teens and also young adults have tried heroin at the very least once–76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 along with 474,000 men and women aged 18 to 25.
Heroin addiction among high school students is a particular dilemma. Close to 2% of high school seniors in the United States tried the drug at least one time in their lifetime, and just about 50% of those injected the drug, as reported by the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey.
How Is Heroin Taken?
Heroin is injected, snorted, or smoked. A large number of newer, more youthful users start by snorting and / or smoking heroin mainly because they want to stay away from the cultural stigma attached to injection drug use. These users often incorrectly think that snorting and / or smoking heroin is not going to lead to dependency.
Users who snort and/or smoke heroin quite often graduate to injection because when their bodies become conditioned towards the drug, the effects it creates are significantly less intensive. They will then turn to injection, a more effective method of administering the drug, to try to obtain the more powerful effects they experienced when they initially began using the drug.
Additional Information About Heroin Abuse:
- Recent research would suggest a change from the practice of injecting the drug to smoking or snorting due to an increase in drug purity and also the false impression that these kinds of usage won’t result in addiction.
- The central nervous system is inhibited due to the depressant nature of heroin.
- When in its purest form, heroin is generally a white-colored powder. The less pure the drug is, the more the color varies. Black or brown colored forms are often referred to as “Black Tar”. This is because of its tendency to feel sticky like tar.
- People of every lifestyle and age have tried heroin. As reported by the Drug enforcement agency roughly 1 out of every 100 people have tried heroin at least one time within their lifetime.
- Heroin is classified by the United States government as a category 1 drug which means it possesses a high potential for abuse and no medical use within the United States and the drug is not safe enough to use even under professional medical supervision.
- Heroin was first developed to help physicians to manage acute pain in their patients. A little known heroin fact is that Laudanum, or heroin combined with alcohol or any other tonics, was marketed by drug stores, physicians and also ‘snake oil salesman’ as being a cure-all to U.S. residents and Canadians during the early 1900′s.
- Codeine, a synthetic opiate, is commonly used in cough medication today. Consequently, codeine is frequently abused by heroin junkies whenever they cannot obtain heroin.
Getting Help For Heroin Addiction In Orange County
Although heroin is incredibly addicting, that doesn’t mean the addict is beyond help. Orange County detox center specialize in treating opioid addiction, both on an inpatient and outpatient basis. San Clemente, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and other cities in Orange County have drug rehab facilities available. These days, many private insurance policies will actually cover the cost!
