Heroin and Methadone

While only 0.1% of the nation’s population are users of heroin, most of them (68%) are seriously addicted and, as a result, are thrust toward the fringes of society. In fact, heroin is felt to be the most addictive illicit drug, giving its users a brief sense of euphoria that, for some, becomes an obsession they don’t want to live without.

A semi-synthetic drug, derived from morphine, heroin is usually injected into the veins but can be smoked, snorted or taken orally. Its preferred form—that of injection—leaves its users desperate for a useable needle. Sharing of needles is not uncommon and the risk for contracting diseases like HIV and hepatitis B is high.

Common Terms for Heroin:
Black Tar
Junk
China White
Mexican Mud
Dust
Scag
H
Smack

Some users of heroin aren’t satisfied with using the drug alone. They mix it with amphetamines to make a “bombita”. The terms, “atom bomb” or “A bomb”, mean that a user is mixing heroin with marijuana. The double trouble of heroin and cocaine is called “dyna-mite”, a “speedball” or a “whiz-bang”. In any case, the addiction potential is high.

Because of the risk of contracting potentially fatal diseases from shared needles, some areas of the world have needle exchange programs and a few users choose to enter methadone programs. Methadone, a synthetic drug chemically unrelated to morphine or heroin, acts on the same opioid receptors as both drugs; however, methadone lasts longer and is taken as a pill. Methadone is no cure for heroin addiction. Most methadone clinics expect their clients to become dependent on methadone instead of heroin. Clients attend individual and/or group therapy sessions and stand a better chance of getting back the reasonable life they lost when they took up heroin.

Beating a heroin addiction is extremely difficult and yet, without some change—even if that change means becoming addicted to methadone—the user’s chance for a normal life is practically zero. Long term use leaves users with episodes of delirium, amnesia, profound depression and, in some cases, respiratory failure and death from accidental overdose. Those that survive face the very real risk of malnutrition, AIDS and chronic hepatitis—diseases that often coexist with an overwhelming craving for the next big score.