These are the signs to look for to tell if someone is currently on heroin:

• The pupils of the eyes of someone on heroin will be very small even in low light conditions when they should be dilated.
• Slowed speech
• Loss of basic motor skills
• Drowsy and slow movement
• Heavy salivating and drooling
• Consistent “nodding off” during normal activities and abnormal hours

Signs that somebody has been using heroin:

• Holes and bruises in the fold of the arm
• Tiny scabs along the veins of the arm
• Bruises underneath the fingernails
• Wearing long sleeves even in hot weather
• Constant stealing or conning

Again, heroin addiction is one of the most brutal and deadly of all addictions, If you suspect someone you know has a heroin problem seek the help of a drug rehab center or certified addiction counselor.

Then, there’s “Mexican black tar” heroin. Talk about a case of the name saying it all! This form of heroin has been seen to be more common among the Hispanic population.

So, something to think about. Is it time for drug abuse treatment programs to look into becoming “exclusive”? Not in the sense of turning people away, by no means, but in the context of concentrating on the different cultural and traditional aspects of the various ethnic groups?

OK, everybody who immediately jumped on the DISCRIMINATION! soapbox, get down now. That’s NOT what’s behind this idea. Discrimination means KEEPING one from doing something BECAUSE of one’s uniqueness. This is the opposite. This is kicking open a door that really, really needs to be open, as wide as possible.

And, yes, there are other differences besides ethnic origins and all the others listed. There are those out there whose sexual orientation is different. Well, perhaps they have a whole different set of problems when it comes to drug abuse. If that’s so, then, maybe they need a specific program.

It’s known that Native Americans have a high rate of alcoholism. Could a program that addresses the specific needs of this group be as successful, if not more successful, as a “mixed” program?

Unfortunately, no. This “cheese” is a mixture of raw black tar heroin (a form of heroin that comes from Mexico, so named because of its color and appearance; “raw” means it’s the pure stuff) and any over-the-counter cold remedy that contains aceta…aseta…oh, heck, Tylenol and Benadry

Water is added to the heroin, which is then combined with the crushed cold tablets. The mixture is cooked to remove the water; what’s left is called “cheese.” From there, up the nose it goes.

It is reported that Hispanics are more likely to use this form of heroin than anyone else. Wonder why that is? The link to Mexico, perhaps? The addiction to this form of heroin, however, is thought to be as much psychological and sociological as it is physical. In other words, it may be mental as much as physical, and the mere fact that Hispanics appear to be the primary users brings a cultural aspect into the picture.

If that is indeed the case, now might be a very good time for drug rehabs to really reach out to the Hispanic population, and get this thing nipped in the bud before it gets any worse. There are enough drugs out there as it is. There is certainly no need for another one to be thrown in with them.

Organizations that primarily offer assistance to the Hispanic population in a city, region, or wherever, may want to educate themselves on this problem, and start focusing on getting the information out there, and the sooner the better.

Anyone else heard of this? If so, can some more light be shed on this subject?

Smack. “H”. Horse. Skag. Junk. Just a few of the names for heroin. Here’s another one: BAD NEWS!

Heroin can be in liquid or powder form. Usually, it’s in powder form. And, usually it’s white, which makes it easier to “cut” or mix with all sorts of good stuff like powdered sugar, flour, cornstarch, or strychnine.

That’s right. Strychnine. RAT POISON! What people put out for rats and mice. And, guess what rat poison does? It thins the blood to where it won’t clot. The rats ultimately bleed to death. OK, so there’s heroin, which already does some pretty nasty stuff on its own, and now it’s mixed with rat poison. That sounds like a recipe for death.

All right, so not all heroin has strychnine as an extra ingredient. The other stuff, that’s just food, right? That’s not going to hurt anything. “Snorting”, taking heroin in through the nose causes the sugar and the heroin to go to the lungs. Do you know what happens to lungs when enough of a powdered substance, or something like heroin, hits them? Abscesses, that’s what. Fluid-filled pockets, which can burst, or can impair breathing, or cause lots of other problems.

And, eventually, the heroin and the stuff it was mixed with are going to get in the bloodstream. If it hasn’t all dissolved by the time it hits the capillaries and veins, guess what can happen, then? BLOOD CLOTS! The blood can’t get to where it is supposed to be going.

If the heroin is “dirty”, that is, if there are foreign objects in it like rocks, pieces of rope, or even small pieces of the packaging, and that stuff gets into the body, there’s another chance for a blockage somewhere.

Usually found in powder form, heroin can be white or brown. It can be cut or mixed with another substance. If the other ingredient is another form of a different drug, that can be fatal.

When one wishes to break a heroin addiction, there are many ways this can be accomplished. One way is by using certain medications. Methadone is one medication that is used to combat heroin addiction. It works well, but can sometimes lead to addiction problems itself.

A relatively new drug, Buprenorphine, is also showing good results in the treatment of heroin addiction. This drug also has the added advantage of being less likely to form an addiction.

Other methods include individual and group counseling, and behavior-modification therapy. In other words, the patient is given rewards or points for remaining drug-free, taking and passing random drug tests, and complying in other ways with the rehabilitation program.

Once a patient has accumulated enough points, or has earned a reward, the “redemption process” may very well take place in the form of contact with family members, friends, or others. If this is the case, it is very important that those who are aware of this part of the program make sure that they hold up their end of the bargain.

If the patient is allowed to see or talk to those on the outside, as a result of reaching goals and continuing to show responsibility, it will mean more to that person than can be imagined. For this reason, family members and others should do anything possible to ensure that they visit when they are allowed to or that they call when they have been told that they can.

Heroin is extremely addictive, and addiction can occur no matter how the drug is taken into the body. It is said that heroin users are told that they will not become addicted if they smoke or “snort” (take it through the nose) heroin instead of injecting it, because heroin that is smoked or snorted is purer than heroin that is injected. This is not true.

Heroin usually looks like a white or brown powder. If the color is white, it is easier for the heroin to be “cut”, or mixed with other substances that are also white, such as powdered sugar, starch, or other stuff. Sometimes, however, strychnine is used. This is rat poison, people. And, because it is impossible to know how much of what is being taken is heroin and how much is rat poison, there is a STRONG possibility of death.

Heroin can cause long-term health problems, such as collapsed veins, as well as heart and lung problems. Heroin users are also at an increased risk of AIDS and Hepatitis C, because needles are so often shared. Methadone is commonly used for treatment of heroin addiction. It has been proven that methadone works the best for heroin addiction treatment. Lifestyle changes, of course, are also necessary in order to remain drug-free and continue on the road to recovery.

Depending on how you take heroin, there are different time frames for the high. When it is taken by mouth, the effects are the same as taking straight morphine. When it is snorted, it has a high onset in 10 to 15 minutes. When it is smoked, the effects are felt almost right away, although they are milder. They will increase as more is smoked.

According to the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, an estimated 2.4 million people used heroin at some time in their lives. When it comes to lifetime statistics, nearly 216,000 of them reported using it within the month before they had taken the survey. These numbers have only continued to increase since that time. When it comes to the numbers of new heroin users, in 1995 there were 141,000 new heroin users and this has seems to have been the trend since then.

Long term usage statistics show that since the early 1990s, there has been an increase in new users of heroin. Most of these users were under the age of 26, and when it comes to how they use the drug, most of them say that they have been using heroin by smoking, snorting, or sniffing heroin.

When it comes to Heroin users in other age groups, these too have increased over the years. Among the ages of 12 to 17 years old, first time heroin users have gone up almost four times from the 1980s until today. Even as recently as just one generation ago, heroin that was available in the US was barely five percent pure heroin and was not used by very many young people because it had to be injected into the skin with a needle. However, in recent years, it has gotten easier to obtain, and much easier to use.

In the United States, Heroin comes from several main source areas. There are four main places where the heroin will come from, and these are South America (mainly Columbia), Mexico, Southeast Asia (mostly Burma), and Southwest Asia (mostly Afghanistan). When it comes to the majority of Heroin in the United States today, it comes mostly from South America and Mexico.

In general, Heroin powder can vary in color. It is usually somewhere between a white and a dark brown color, and this comes from the impurities that are found in it from being manufactured in an low quality manner, which is usually crude and not experienced. This means that there are often different additives in Heroin, which make the drug even more dangerous.

When a person looks at what is usually sold on the street regarding heroin, it is hardly ever actually pure heroin. Most of the time, there will be 30 to 50 milligrams of powder sold in a bag of heroin. Only a small percentage of this powder is actually heroin. It used to be that the purity of actual Heroin in a bag sold on the street was from 1 percent to 10 percent. In recent times, the purity of Heroin has ranged from about 10 percent to 70 percent.

Heroin can be found in many different forms. Pure Heroin is pure white in color and has a bitter taste, but heroin can be found in colors that vary from white to dark brown. A form of heroin, “black tar”, can have a sticky consistency or a hard form, it’s color can be from dark brown to black. Heroin is typically injected. The heroin is liquefied and inserted into the body directly through the blood stream, this causes an intense and immediate high. Heroin is also smoked and snorted. Heroin is imported into the United States. Made from opium in foreign countries such as: South America, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia. Heroin costs are based on availability, quantities, and purity. Heroin was reportably sold from 13,200 to 175,000 per kilogram in 2000.

Heroin Use

One of the most dangerous aspects of heroin use is drug addiction. Heroin is extremely addictive. It rapidly builds a tolerance with in the body, resulting in the use of higher doses to achieve the same effect. This builds a physical and mental dependency on the drug. Heroin also has sever withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

Chronic use and heroin abuse causes physical damage to the body such as; collapsed veins, heart infections, and liver disease. Even short term use can put the body in danger of HIV and hepatitis B and C. Overdose with heroin is common, an overdose can cause shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and death. Heroin usage rates across the United States have been documented by emergency room visits and deaths.

Heroin addiction is usually a quick up and down, heroin user typically bottom out very quickly due to the addictive qualities and expense of the drug. If you or someone you love has a heroin addiction seek help immediately. There are many drug rehab facilities that can help safely assist you in the withdrawal and recovery from heroin addiction.

Mostly, this drug is going to be found in a white form. This is crystallized, and it is the most common form of Heroin. When the drug is in its white crystal form this is the hydrochloride salt. When the two are put together, the chemical compound is diacetylmorphine hydrochloride.

Some of the street names for the drug are “dope”, “black tar”, “smack” and also, “brown sugar. It is also known in the United Kingdom as diamorphine, and it is a legal prescription drug in this country. Heroin has become a serious problem in America and all over the world. Heroin is something that has become very important to try to deal with. It is a processed form of morphine, which is a natural substance.

The derivative of morphine called diamorphine, which makes up the synthetic opioid called Heroin has huge and immediate effects on the person who is taking it. Right after they take the drug, heroin users will report a euphoria that hits them right away. There will be a warmth that flushes their skin, a dry mouth, and heavy feelings in their arms and legs. They often call the next phase going on a “nod”, and during this phase they are in alternating wakeful and drowsy states. There is a depression of the central nervous system during this time and that means that the mental functioning of the user is going to become clouded.

Because of not only the synthetic nature of this drug, but also the highly addictive nature, there are many health hazards that are associated with heroin use. Once someone has used heroin a few times, there are going to be long term effects of the drug that are seen, including veins that collapse when someone is injecting the drug. Heroin has short-term effects which will appear right away when someone has taken the drug and will last for several hours. Many times, the period of use will increase dramatically within a very short period of time.

They might develop things like collapsed veins, infections in their heart, and lots of different sicknesses like pneumonia, pulmonary sicknesses and liver disease. Rates of HIV and AIDS as well as hepatitis are also higher in heroin users. There are also terrible effects that are found when a pregnant woman abuses heroin. The baby will have low birth weight, which has an effect on every other developmental stage that child goes through. There are many times where spontaneous abortion will occur from heroin use.

Wait, stop, whoa. Put the travel plans on hold, IMMEDIATELY!

Now, read on, please. In the UK, heroin in its legal form is known as diamorphine, and is prescribed PRIMARILY for pain relief, and ONLY when other methods have failed, and PREDOMINATELY for patients who are in the end stages of cancer or some other SERIOUS disease which causes IMMENSE PAIN in its final stages.

In other words, people who are very, very close to death from REAL illnesses. People who are or have been in so much pain that something drastic had to be done. People who are NOT EXPECTED to get better, ever.

Heroin is a derivative of morphine, which is a pain reliever. So, doctors in the UK do prescribe heroin, but they take care to distinguish it from “street” heroin by calling it diamorphine.

And, more than likely, the legal heroin is way different that the junk that’s being sold on the street. For one thing, it’s manufactured and produced in a cleaner environment. In other words, it’s NOT dumped out on the nearest flat surface, and mixed with something else, probably by someone who DID NOT bother to wash his or her hands.

And, it is prescribed SPARINGLY. The majority of doctors in the UK do not want to become known as “heroin doctors”, so they take special precautions to make sure that it is really, really needed before they do give it.

So, does this make it right? Should this be done in the US?

Hard to say. But, seeing a loved one suffer in the final throes of cancer (and this blogger has) MIGHT make someone consider it, along with anything else that might help. So, maybe “judge not” would apply here?

Any comments?