HEROIN

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HEROIN

• Hammer H Smack Horse White Beige

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Where does it come from?

• The primary supplier of heroin to the United
  States is South America, which has surpassed the
  formerly dominant Southeast Asia
• Different sections of the country receives
  their supply from different sources though
• Southwest Mexico (black tar)
• Northeast Southeast Asia

• Columbia is the leader of the South American
  countries in heroin production and distribution

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What is in it?

• Pure heroin is processed from morphine, a
  substance found in certain varieties of poppy
  plants.
• It is white and has a bitter taste

• It is often mixed with other drugs when it is
  cut, including strychnine and other poisons

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What does it look like?

• On the street heroin can be found in all
  different forms
• Its color ranges from white to beige to brown
  to black
• Color changes occur due to impurities in its
  manufacturing

• It also varies in texture from the pure white
  powder to the sticky black tar Mexican heroin
• Each different purchase of heroin could
  contains a different level of purity
  as well
• Ranging anywhere from 10 to as
  high as 96 from South America

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Mode of Administration

• Heroin may be injected, snorted, or smoked
• Once the heroin is purchased it is often
  dissolved down and injected by needle
• This is the fastest way for the user to feel
  the effects and the most common
• Two types of injections are intravenous
  (7 sec.) and intramuscular (5 min)
• Snorting is the next most common and is
  traditionally done by the more wealthier
  users
• Both snorting and smoking take at least
  10 to 15 minutes to feel the rush

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How does it cause its effect?

• Many different parts of the brain are effected
  by heroin use
• They primarily effect the limbic system, which
  controls you emotions, allowing the user to feel
  and extreme increase in pleasure.
• On the spinal cord pain messages transmitted to
  the from the body are blocked eliminating all
  discomforts
• At the brain stem the usage effects your
  automatic body functions, such as breathing, and
  may often depress your breathing pattern to
  dangerous levels

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Long Term Effects

• Primarily a strong addiction
• Collapsed veins
• Bacterial infections
• Infections of the heart lining
  and valves
• Arthritis and other
  rheumatologic problems

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Short Term Effects

• Immediate Rush
• Depressed respiration
• Clouded mental functioning
• Nausea and vomiting
• Suppression of pain
• Spontaneous abortion

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Who uses it?

• There are an estimated 810,000 heroin addicts
  in the United States
• 80 of those are under the age of 26
• The mean age of addicts is 21.3 years old down
  from 25 only 10 years ago
• If this trend continues experts are
  predicting the mean age to fall under
  20 years of age in the next 15 years

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How much does it cost?

• Heroin is an expensive drug that can cause its
  user to lose everything
• This expensive habit often causes its user to
  turn to illegal tactics to be able to afford the
  rush
• A gram of heroin can cost 500-700
• An addicts annual bill may reach as high as
  80,000-100,00

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Fighting the Addiction

• There are several different types of treatment
  options for a heroin addict
• Most common is methadone treatment. This
  withdrawal procedure slowly eases the patient off
  the drug by replacing heroin with methadone, a
  lower dose of heroin. This treatment option is
  very expensive though and may cost near 5,000
  for complete detoxification.
• Another method often attempted is going Cold
  Turkey. Here the addict just quits completely.
  It is compared to jumping off a cliff and often
  causes death for those whose bodies are too
  unhealthy to withstand the withdrawal.

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HIV, AIDS, and other problems

• Due to the high number of addicts turning to
  the needle to receive their rush and the common
  practice of sharing those needles HIV has spread
  quickly among the heroin community. Many
  hospitals provide free sterile needles to combat
  this problem.
• Hepatitis is also a common disease passed in
  this fashion

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Heroin Addict Hall of Fame
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5 Review Qs

• What plant does heroin come from?
• Who is the main supplier of heroin to the United
  States?
• What are the 3 modes of administration and which
  produces the fastest results?
• What are 2 types of withdrawal methods?
• What age group makes up the primary addicts?
• Who is your favorite heroin addict?

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Quick Summary