Smack, brown, horse, gear, H, junk, skag and jack

Heroin is a powerful and addictive substance that can be solid in the form of a powder, pill, or a liquid. Street Heroin is usually a brown solid powder. The powder starts life as the milky sap of the opium poppy Papaverum Somniferum. The sap is collected and dried to form a gum. The gum is washed and becomes opium. Opium contains painkillers alkaloids, codeine and morphine which are extracted. The morphine which is extracted can be further refined to create diamorphine or heroin. Heroin is forty times more powerful than raw opium.

Heroin users describe the feeling of relaxations, warmth and sense of well-being like being wrapped up in cotton wool. Most of the users feel nauseous and often vomit. This is then followed by a period when the users is conscious but looks like they're falling asleep. The users heart rate and breathing decreases. At this point the user cannot interact normally with others, to the users their experience will have taken on a dream like. It is used in medicine (it's called diamorphine when it is prescribed) as an unaesthetic and powerful analgesic, for relief form severe pains. 

Heroin depresses the activity of the central nervous system like alcohol and sleeping tablets. Heroin makes the user unable to get a grip on what's going on around them. It suppresses the appetite and dehydrates the body and this could lead to the user not eating properly and their health is effected. Injecting can easily lead to an overdose. It is very addictive so getting the next fit can dominate a users life. Injecting can damage the veins and lead to gangrene. Sharing needles or syringes puts the user at risk of dangerous infections like hepatitis and HIV. Many manage to kick the drug but mentally it may take years to be free. It risks the user of losing their life from taking overdoses.

Heroin is illegal. It is categorized as Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. If found of possession of Heroin the sentence is 7 years in prison and or a fine. If found supplying the sentence is life imprisonment and or a fine. This includes giving a substance for free, and can be for any amount of Heroin that the court feels is too unreasonably large to be for personal use only.

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Last modified: 04/27/06