Signs of Heroin Abuse and Addiction

Heroin gives you a feeling of well-being and happiness. It also makes you feel like the world has slowed down. People on heroin think slowly and might move slowly.

Heroin makes people feel sleepy, like they're in a dream.

Heroin makes the pupils (the black circle in the center of each eye) get very small.

A person who injects (shoots up) heroin will have marks on the skin where the needle went in.

Heroin is very addictive because it is usually injected or smoked, which sends it to the brain very quickly. People who get addicted to heroin need to take more and more of it to get the same high.

People who are trying to quit taking heroin might:
  • Have pain in muscles and bones
  • Get chills
  • Throw up
  • Be unable to sleep
  • Feel nervous
They will feel a very strong need to take the drug.

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Heroin

Heroin is a drug made from morphine, a natural substance in the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Heroin can be injected, smoked or snorted. Heroin abuse is a serious problem in the United States. Major health problems from heroin include miscarriages, heart infections and death from overdose. People who inject the drug also risk infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

Regular use of heroin can lead to tolerance. This means users need more and more drug to have the same effect.   Read more...

Opiate Abuse & Mental Health

"The term “opiate” refers to a number of different substances—both legal and illegal—originally synthesized from the poppy plant and sharing certain chemical properties. Both legal opiates (e.g., oxycodone [Oxycontin, Percocet], hydrocodone [Vicodin], codeine, morphine [MS Contin], hydromorphine [Dilaudid]) and illegal opiates (e.g., heroin or illegally obtained prescription opiates) are highly addictive substances. Most people are aware of the dangers that heroin poses, yet approximately 100,000 Americans will use this drug for the first time each year.

Many people are prescribed opiate medications and use them responsibly and without experiencing significant adverse effects..." Read more from NAMI

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