Heroin is the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates, or narcotics. Processed from morphine, the naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of certain kinds of poppy plants, heroin can be injected, snorted, sniffed or smoked. Regardless of how it’s used, it’s highly addictive.
On the other hand, opioid analogs are synthetically produced chemical compounds whose effects are similar to other drugs -- but they differ slightly in their chemical structure. Some analogs are produced by pharmaceutical companies for legitimate medical reasons. Others, sometimes called “designer drugs”, may be produced in illegal laboratories and are often more dangerous and potent that the original drug.
Two commonly known opiate analogs are Fentanyl and Meperidine (marketed under the brand name Demerol). Fentanyl, originally used as an analgesic in surgical procedures, is 50 times more potent than heroin and can rapidly stop respiration. In fact, its users have been found dead on the street with the needle used to inject the drug still in his or her arm.
Although heroin abuse has trended downward during the past several years, its prevalence is still higher than in the early 1990s.
These relatively high rates of abuse, especially among school-age youth, and the glamorization of heroin in music and films make it imperative that the public has the latest scientific information on this topic. Heroin also is increasing in purity and decreasing in price, which makes it an attractive option for young people and provides results similar to injecting when snorting it.
“Many of the new initiates of heroin are in fact trying the drug because they can snort it and think they would be protected by not injecting. . . In addition to that fact being clearly wrong, studies also show that non injecting heroin users are at considerable risk of becoming injection drug users,” said Dr. Alan I. Leshner, former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
And the Worst News of All – “Cheese Heroin”
The most frightening news is all about Cheese --- that is, Cheese Heroin. According to Texas law enforcement and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials, “cheese” is a “heroin starter”.
“Cheese” or “starter heroin” is a combination of heroin – up to 8 percent heroin -- and ground up cold medicine containing acetaminophen and diphenhydramine. The mixture is a tan powder that is snorted. It’s often wrapped in little pieces of notebook paper, or if made into a more solid little sugar cube- like block, sold in plastic see-through baggies. Kids snort it through an empty ball pen cylinder, sometimes even while in the classroom.
According to users, the effects of “cheese” include euphoria, disorientation, lethargy, sleepiness and hunger. This combination of drugs appears to be highly addictive. Withdrawal symptoms from “cheese” may begin within twelve hours of use and include headache, chills, muscle pains, muscle spasms, anxiety, agitation, disorientation and disassociation. This drives the user to crave another “hit”.
Cheese (heroin) is designed and marketed by Mexican gangs and sold by American high school dealers to kids as young as 10. One apprehended school yard dealer was 11.
Over 18 deaths from “Cheese” have occurred in the Dallas, Texas area.
Do DEA agents expect the “Cheese heroin’” or “heroin starters’” marketing to expand to other areas? As one DEA official says, “This Mexican drug network has been sending drugs to the United States for quite some time now. They see Cheese Heroin as a way to make a lot of money on a little heroin. They’re monsters. They’re targeting little kids. Will they expand to other places than Texas? Sure, they’re always looking to expand their markets.”
Do the kids even know they are abusing heroin? One parent, David Witherspoon, whose 17 year old son, Keith, was one of 18 youths who died from an overdose of “cheese”, thinks it may be possible that many youngsters do not understand fully what they are using. “It’s called “cheese”. They call it “cheese,” he said. “What could sound more harmless?”
Note to Parents: Cheese heroin is tan in color; it may be in a powder form or a small block of what looks like half of a tan colored sugar cube. It is usually sold wrapped in either a small piece of school notepaper or inside a small plasticine baggie.
“Cheese” is snorted through empty ball pen cylinders. Check your child’s pens. Take them apart. Trust is grand; his or her safety is even grander. Check with your child’s school. Have they had any claims of kids using cheese in their school?
What’s being done to warn children about the drug and the drug dealers who are kids like themselves? Speak to your child. Tell them how dangerous this drug combination is – and how fatal. Ask them to report to you anyone who offers it to them.
Warning: Candy from strangers. In an effort to attract young children as buyers for their drugs, dealers are mixing illegal drugs with not only super strength cold medicines but other familiar products including candy. Some potent illegal drugs like heroin and Methamphetamine have been mixed with fruit flavored milk drink powders and named for the flavors. How innocent and safe would “Strawberry Quick” sound to your child?
Heroin rapidly enters the brain and acts on the brain’s natural reward circuitry to produce a surge of pleasurable sensations (endorphins). People like what drugs do to their brains. However, research shows that prolonged drug use can actually change brains – changes that help convert dependency into addiction.
Heroin makes the user feel “euphoric” even though the “rush” is also accompanied by a laundry list of other effects. They include a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy sluggish feeling in the arms and legs. It can also be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and severe itching.
Myths and Facts about Heroin
Myth: Heroin is less dangerous if you snort or smoke it instead of injecting it.
Fact: No. Heroin is heroin. You can still die from an overdose of heroin or become dependant on it by snorting or smoking it.
Myth: Withdrawal from heroin won’t kill you; you can stop anytime.
Fact: Although it is seldom fatal, withdrawal from heroin produces drug cravings, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting and other symptoms that usually last about a week but may last for many months.
Myth: Methadone is just another substitution for heroin.
Fact: No, it is not. Although it does bind to the same brain receptors, it acts in the brain quite differently from heroin. While heroin de-stabilizes the brain of the addict, methadone actually stabilizes the heroin addict’s brain and behavior.
Health risks associated with both injecting and non injecting heroin use are substantial. First, because heroin users do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death.
Heroin use produces depressed respiration, clouded mental functioning, nausea and vomiting, suppression of pain so that a user can be seriously injured without seeking medical care, and in females, it can cause spontaneous abortion. Long term medical consequences of heroin use include addiction, infectious diseases, for example HIV/AIDS, bacterial infections, abscesses, infection of heart lining and valves, and arthritis and other rheumatologic problems. Heroin slows down the way you think, slows down reaction time and slows down memory.
Sources: “NIDA Research Report Series: Heroin”, and “Tips for Teens, the Truth About Heroin”. National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686
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