What is heroin ?
Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium poppy plants grown in Southeast and Southwest Asia, Mexico, and Colombia. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Other common names for heroin include big H, horse, hell dust, and smack. Buying Drugs Online .
How do people use heroin?
People inject, sniff, snort, or smoke heroin. Some people mix heroin with crack cocaine, a practice called speedballing.
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 feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing. Buying Drugs Online .
Prescription Opioids and Heroin
Prescription opioid pain medicines such as OxyContin® and Vicodin® have effects similar to heroin. Research suggests that misuse of these drugs may open the door to heroin use. Data from 2011 showed that an estimated 4 to 6 percent who misuse prescription opioids switch to heroin1-3 and about 80 percent of people who used heroin first misused prescription opioids.1-3 More recent data suggest that heroin is frequently the first opioid people use. In a study of those entering treatment for opioid use disorder, approximately one-third reported heroin as the first opioid they used regularly to get high.4
This suggests that prescription opioid misuse is just one factor leading to heroin use. Read more about this intertwined problem in our Prescription Opioids and Heroin Research Report. Buying Drugs Online .
Short-Term Effects
People who use heroin report feeling a “rush” (a surge of pleasure, or euphoria). However, there are other common effects, including:
- dry mouth
- warm flushing of the skin
- heavy feeling in the arms and legs
- nausea and vomiting
- severe itching
- clouded mental functioning
- going “on the nod,” a back-and-forth state of being conscious and semiconscious
Long-Term Effects
People who use heroin over the long term may develop:
- insomnia
- collapsed veins for people who inject the drug
- damaged tissue inside the nose for people who sniff or snort it
- infection of the heart lining and valves
- abscesses (swollen tissue filled with pus)
- constipation and stomach cramping
- liver and kidney disease
- lung complications, including pneumonia
- mental disorders such as depression and antisocial personality disorder
- sexual dysfunction for men
- irregular menstrual cycles for women
Other Potential Effects
Heroin often contains additives, such as sugar, starch, or powdered milk, that can clog blood vessels leading to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain, causing permanent damage. Also, sharing drug injection equipment and having impaired judgment from drug use can increase the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis (see “Injection Drug Use, HIV, and Hepatitis”).
Can a person overdose on heroin?
Yes, a person can overdose on heroin. A heroin overdose occurs when a person uses enough of the drug to produce a life-threatening reaction or death. Heroin overdoses have increased in recent years.5
When people overdose on heroin, their breathing often slows or stops. This can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain, a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia can have short- and long-term mental effects and effects on the nervous system, including coma and permanent brain damage. Buying Drugs Online .
How can a heroin overdose be treated?
Naloxone is a medicine that can treat an opioid overdose when given right away. It works by rapidly binding to opioid receptors and blocking the effects of heroin and other opioid drugs. Sometimes more than one dose may be needed to help a person start breathing again, which is why it’s important to get the person to an emergency department or a doctor to receive additional support if needed. Read more in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit.
Naloxone is available as an injectable (needle) solution and nasal sprays (NARCAN® Nasal Spray and KLOXXADO®). Friends, family, and others in the community can use the nasal spray versions of naloxone to save someone who is overdosing.
The rising number of opioid overdose deaths has led to an increase in public health efforts to make naloxone available to at-risk persons and their families, as well as first responders and others in the community. Some states have passed laws that allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription from a person’s personal doctor. how do i buy heroin online .
Read more about naloxone in Naloxone DrugFacts.
Is heroin addictive?
Heroin is highly addictive. People who regularly use heroin often develop a tolerance, which means that they need higher and/or more frequent doses of the drug to get the desired effects. A substance use disorder (SUD) is when continued use of the drug causes issues, such as health problems and failure to meet responsibilities at work, school, or home. An SUD can range from mild to severe, the most severe form being addiction. Buying Drugs Online .
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Those who are addicted to heroin and stop using the drug abruptly may have severe withdrawal. Withdrawal symptoms—which can begin as early as a few hours after the drug was last taken—include:
- restlessness
- severe muscle and bone pain
- sleep problems
- diarrhea and vomiting
- cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”)
- uncontrollable leg movements (“kicking the habit”)
- severe heroin cravings
Researchers are studying the long-term effects of opioid addiction on the brain. Studies have shown some loss of the brain’s white matter associated with heroin use, which may affect decision-making, behavior control, and responses to stressful situations.6–8
How is heroin addiction treated?
A range of treatments including medicines and behavioral therapies are effective in helping people stop heroin use. It’s important to match the best treatment approach to meet the particular needs of each individual patient.
There are medicines being developed to help with the withdrawal process. The FDA approved lofexidine, a non-opioid medicine designed to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms. How do i buy heroin online .
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Medicines to help people stop using heroin include buprenorphine and methadone. They work by binding to the same opioid receptors in the brain as heroin, but more weakly, reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Another treatment is naltrexone, which blocks opioid receptors and prevents opioid drugs from having an effect. A NIDA study found that once treatment is initiated, both a buprenorphine/naloxone combination and an extended release naltrexone formulation are similarly effective in addiction. Because full detoxification is necessary for treatment with naloxone, initiating treatment among active users was difficult, but once detoxification was complete, both medications had similar effectiveness. how do i buy heroin online .
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Behavioral therapies for heroin addiction include methods called cognitive-behavioral therapy and contingency management. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps modify the patient’s drug-use expectations and behaviors, and helps effectively manage triggers and stress. Contingency management provides motivational incentives, such as vouchers or small cash rewards for positive behaviors such as staying drug-free. These behavioral treatment approaches are especially effective when used along with medicines. Read more about drug addiction treatment in our Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction DrugFacts.
Points to Remember
- Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of various opium poppy plants.
- Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin.
- People inject, sniff, snort, or smoke heroin. Some people mix heroin with crack cocaine, called speedballing.
- Heroin enters the brain rapidly and binds to opioid receptors on cells located in many areas, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure and in controlling heart rate, sleeping, and breathing.
- People who use heroin report feeling a “rush” (or euphoria). Other common effects include dry mouth, heavy feelings in the arms and legs, and clouded mental functioning.
- Long-term effects may include collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, and lung complications.
- Research suggests that misuse of prescription opioid pain medicine is a risk factor for starting heroin use.
- A person can overdose on heroin. Naloxone is a medicine that can treat a heroin overdose when given right away, though more than one dose may be needed.
- Heroin can lead to addiction, a form of substance use disorder. Withdrawal symptoms include severe muscle and bone pain, sleep problems, diarrhea and vomiting, and severe heroin cravings.
- A range of treatments including medicines and behavioral therapies are effective in helping people stop heroin use. However, treatment plans should be individualized to meet the needs of the patient.
Drug traders move to the streets when dark-web marketplaces get shut down
Shutdowns of illicit marketplaces on the dark web lead to more drug trade in the streets. Illicit drug trade crimes for heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana increased by 5% to 10% in the US during the two weeks following shutdowns of dark-web marketplaces.
If you thought your nerdy classmate could never ever become a drug lord, you might have to change your mind. Online trade in illicit drugs has boomed during the last decade, with the fraction of drug users buying drugs online doubling from 2014 to 2017 in the US — from 7 to 14 per cent, according the Global Drug Survey. how do i buy heroin online .
How To Buy Illegal Drugs Online From Darknet Markets
Trading illicit drugs online thrived thanks to cryptocurrencies and the rise of the dark web, a hidden part of the web where illicit drug markets prosper. These technological innovations allowed criminals to trade drugs online while being relatively anonymous and untraceable. Operators in the illicit drugs business moved online because dark-web marketplaces overcome some of the traditional problems of street drug trade. There is a much lower risk of being sold impure substances or incurring into violence while buying or selling substances. In fact, dark-web marketplaces face lower rate of scams and higher drug purity than the street drug trade, and people use them because they feel safer. Buying Drugs Online .
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What happens when these websites get shut down? Do operators in the illicit drugs market start going back to the streets? Does this also cause an increase in property and violent crimes? My paper answers this question by looking at detailed data about crime in the US and combining it with information about shutdowns of dark-web marketplaces. How do i buy heroin online .
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I compare crimes in days immediately before and after shutdowns of dark-web marketplaces. I consider days immediately before shutdowns as a good proxy for what would have happened, in the days immediately after shutdowns, if dark-web marketplaces had not been shut down. Thanks to this counterfactual it is possible to see whether shutdowns of online drug trading platforms cause an increase in offline drug trading and crimes that are usually connected to it. Heroin for sale in Europe .
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I find that online drug trading is closely connected to street drug trading. The two markets act as substitutes, with trade moving back to the streets when dark-web marketplaces get shut down. Drug trade, however, quickly moves back online as soon as new dark-web marketplaces open and gain the trust of buyers and sellers of substances. What is driving this result are crimes connected with the supply of drugs, such as distribution and transportation of illicit substances. An indication that it is harder for drug sellers to gain the trust of buyers after an unexpected shutdown of a dark-web marketplace. Buying Drugs Online .
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I find no impact on street crimes that are usually associated to drug trading, such as assaults, thefts, prostitution, and homicides. These crimes are normally associated with street drug trade as buyers tend to commit crimes to finance their addiction and drug cartels use violence as a tool for keeping their business going. Heroin for sale in Europe .
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To rationalise these findings, you need to think about the illicit drugs market as similar to the labour market. Looking for a new job is costly. You need to go through job listings, prepare a CV, get interviewed, and when you finally get a job that you like, you will think twice before going through that time-consuming and nerve-wracking experience again. The same holds for buyers and sellers of illicit drugs. When a buyer matches a seller they will normally engage in a long-lasting relationship. Shutdowns of dark-web marketplaces break this relationship, pushing un-matched buyers and sellers to look for a new match in the streets. However, buyers and sellers that were operating online are ready to go back to it, as soon as they have the possibility to do so, as they consider online trading safer. Buying Drugs Online .
How to order heroin online safely
These findings show how shutting down dark-web marketplaces has a relatively short-run impact on street drug trade. However, they prove once again how hard it is to fight drug trade and drug addiction by trying to eliminate all possible sources of illicit drugs, which is known as a supply-side policy. Drug users and criminal organisations quickly learn to adapt to these policies and find alternative ways to keep buying and selling drugs. This became incredibly clear during the COVID-19 lockdown, when dark-web marketplaces became even more popular, as trading in the streets became much riskier. Heroin for sale in Europe .
Three persistent myths about heroin use and overdose deaths
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death earlier this week from a suspected heroin overdose unleashed the usual media coverage of deaths related to this drug. While the actor’s actual cause of death has not yet been determined, it’s important to separate the truth from the myths about heroin use and overdose. how do i buy heroin online .
There are few areas as replete with myth as heroin use. Common misconceptions include that this is a problem of young people, that there are a large number of highly functioning “recreational” users of the drug, and that overdose deaths are due to variations in drug purity (or impurities). What is heroin ?
The persistence of these myths is intriguing because research evidence from the past 40 years has repeatedly shown all of them to be false. Buying Drugs Online .