Heroin Addiction the Drug Known as Heroin

Heroin Addiction

The drug known as heroin is a form of morphine, derived from poppy seeds. It is very easy to become addicted to heroin because of the euphoric feeling that it creates in the person who uses the drug. Morphine and its derivative heroin is a downer, this is the slang term for a depressant. It "affects the brain's pleasure systems and interferes with the brain's ability to perceive pain" (Drug 2011). The first dosage gives the person a high that alleviates all worry and releases endorphins. After this, the user must increase the dosage of heroin each time in order to achieve that same feeling. Each usage needs more of the drug and the amount of heroin that is injected or taken orally increases exponentially (Fernandez 2011). This is why so many heroin addicts overdose accidentally. Overcoming heroin addiction is very difficult and requires the assistance of strong medical professionals.

Heroin is considered a versatile drug in that it can be injected, snorted, smoked, or taken in tablet form (Drug 2011). The first stage of what will become heroin addiction is the recreational use of the drug by persons. A person who chooses to take heroin and still has some control over their body's reaction to the chemical is considered a recreational drug user. However, after prolonged use, the body becomes dependant on the heroin in order to continue functioning (Heroin 2008). After this has happened, the body will require additional heroin or else the person will go into withdrawal which is extremely painful.

Those who become addicted to heroin will show a wide array of physical changes as a direct effect of their usage. Often, people who inject heroin will have skin abscesses because of the impurities in the drug (Bourgois 2011). There are many potential risks involved in heroin usage including damage to the heart and the brain. According to the Partnership for a Drugree America (2011), "chronic users may develop collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, cellulites, and liver disease. Pulmonary complications, including various types of pneumonia, may result from the poor health condition of the abuser, as well as from heroin's depressing effects on respiration." Health concerns are detrimentally affected by the fact that many people who become addicted to heroin will use all their available funds to purchase more of the drugs. The person will quickly become malnourished and unhealthy, unable or unwilling to take care of themselves or their body's needs outside of the injection and continuation of drug use.

People who use heroin will become sleepy and the pupils of their eyes will be constricted (Fernandez 2011). It is said that the more constricted that they pupil becomes, the more pure the heroine was that the person took. Additionally injecting poses health problems because of the potential for a dirty or a used needle. Many people have gotten diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis C by using needles after they had been used by infected persons.