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Heroin is a particularly powerful addictive drug that is processed from morphine from the seedpod of Asian poppies. The end product of the process is a white or brown powder that can be sniffed, smoked or dissolved and injected directly into the bloodstream.
Some of the more common names for the drug on the street are smack, "H", skag and junk.
First time users are attracted to the drug's reputation for producing a euphoric rush.
The National Drug Intelligence Center reports that surveys estimate that 3,091,000 United States residents tried Heroin at least once in the year 2002. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicates that 2% of high school seniors are among this number and that at least 1% of them inject the drug.
The short-term effects of heroin are: a euphoric nod, warm flushed skin, dry mouth and heavy extremities. This is followed by the alternating state of wakefulness and drowsiness known as "on the nod" and a clouded mental functioning that is the result of the depressive effect Heroin has on the central nervous system.
Long-term effects are far more serious and occur with repeated use. Heroin addicts suffer from collapsed veins, infections of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulitis, liver disease and pulmonary complications. There is also the risk of the sometimes-fatal infection through shared syringes.
Heroin usage becomes addiction when a tolerance to the drug is built up. This means the potential addict will have to increase the dosage to experience the same "rush". Tolerance also means that the body has assimilated the drug and will suffer withdrawal without it. Now the drug is needed not only by the mind craving the high but also the body.
Today the principal treatment for heroin addiction is a combination of medications like methadone, a synthetic opiate helpful during withdrawal, and behavioral therapies.
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