Drug Report

Heroin Drug
Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance extracted from the seeds
of various poppy plants grown in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico and Colombia.
Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black ooze known as black tar heroin.
Morphine is a narcotic analgesic used in severe pain procedures. Illicit heroin can be
smoked or solubilized with a weak acid and injected. As much as opium has been smoked
since historical times, diamorphine was first synthesized in the late 19th century. Heroin is
under global control.

Effects
What are the effects of heroin?
Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to
opioid receptors on cells located in many
areas, especially those involved in sensations
of pain and pleasure and in the control of
heart rate, sleep, and breathing.

Molecular structure
Other potential effects are that Heroin often
contains additives, such as sugar, starch, or
powdered milk, which can clog blood vessels
to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing
Chemical Compound
permanent damage. In addition, sharing drug
(5α,6α)-7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-17-
injection equipment and having poor
methylmorphinan-3,6-diol diacetate
judgment from drug use can increase the risk
of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV
and hepatitis (see "Injection drug use, HIV
and hepatitis").

The most common effects of heroin abuse in

teens include:
Respiratory problems, including pneumonia,
depressed breathing, and other pulmonary diseases
Infection by bloodborne pathogens, leading to
chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis
Infection at the injection site
Necrotizing fasciitis, a fast-moving, fatal infection
that kills tissue it encounters
Decreased ability to care for oneself as obtaining,
using, and recovering from heroin use takes over life
Cardiac complications: pericarditis, endocarditis,
atherosclerosis
Complications from additives to the heroin, which
can cause blood clots to form in the arteries or
veins and allow it to travel to heart, causing heart
attack, stroke, or pulmonary embolism
Coma
Overdose and death

Short term health

problems Long term health
Euphoria
A dry mouth
problems
Warm, flushed skin Collapsed veins
Arms and legs that feel heavy Insomnia
Upset stomach and vomiting Infections of your heart lining and
Itching valves
A fuzzy brain
Skin infections like abscesses and
Switching in and out of drowsiness (this is
cellulitis
often called being “on the nod”)
A higher chance of getting HIV/AIDS,
hepatitis B, and hepatitis C
Liver and kidney disease
Mental disorders
Lung diseases like pneumonia and
tuberculosis
Percentage of population and Menstrual problems and miscarriage
global distribution
Roughly 0.3% of American adults are Heroin
users. There are over 100,000 new Heroin users
each year. More than 28% of 2019's Opioid
overdose fatalities were linked to Heroin. Due to
use patterns and Narcan, the rate of Heroin-
linked overdose deaths fell 6% from 2018 to
2019.

Global heroin flows from Asian points of origin

Most of the heroin was seized in the Near and
Middle East and South-West Asia (39 per cent
of the global total), South-East Europe (24 per
cent) and Western and Central Europe (10 per
cent).