The replacement of one drug with another is not a new trend. Today methadone and other drugs are pushed on heroin addicts as a so-called treatment for their substance abuse. The obvious problem is that they're still taking a drug, one which happens to have similar characteristics as heroin and other opiates and is highly addictive as well and even more addictive than heroin. Prescription drugs are much more difficult to work with and more painful to withdrawal.

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What is heroin?

Heroin is the final product resulting from refinement of the juice of the opium poppy. Most of the world's heroin comes from poppies grown in Afghanistan, while most of America's heroin comes from South America and Mexico with smaller amounts coming from South Asia. When the poppies are fully mature, the seed pods are scraped with a knife and the resin leaks out and collects on the pod. This dried resin is rubbed off by hand, collected up and then sent off for processing.

This resin goes through several refining steps and what results is finished heroin that makes its way to American cities and towns. It can look like a white or brownish powder, which in America usually comes from Colombia, or a sticky blackish substance called "black tar" heroin that comes from Mexico.

Black tar heroin is seen more on the West Coast of the US and white heroin is more prevalent in East Coast cities. As the product makes its way from the refineries to the cities, it can be "cut" or adulterated with other substances to make it go farther. Dealers will use sugar, starch, powdered milk or quinine.

Heroin can be smoked, snorted or dissolved and injected. Higher purity heroin is usually snorted or smoked, avoiding the stigma that is still attached by many to injection of drugs.

Heroin can be called Chiva, Horse or Smack. In Texas, it is sometimes found mixed with Tylenol PM and then it is referred to as Cheese. In this case, young Hispanic people were the main users and many did not even know that Cheese contained heroin until after they were addicted.

When heroin is used, it initially creates a surge of euphoria, known as a rush, which is followed by drowsiness, sedation and relaxation. Users who regularly abuse heroin develop a tolerance, which means that more of the drug must be taken to get the result the user expects. With higher doses of the drug, the user will usually become addicted.

Since the strength of every batch of heroin varies, it is impossible for the user to know how big a dose of heroin is going to be too much. If a dealer cuts the drug with less powdered milk than usual, it is possible to overdose on heroin by simply taking the usual amount. Since heroin depresses respiration, an overdose will show up as slow and shallow breathing, blue lips and fingertips, which can then be followed by convulsions, coma and death.

A person wishing to recover from heroin addiction will have to go through withdrawal first, which can be a very miserable experience. Withdrawal symptoms include severe flu-symptoms, sweating, vomiting, nausea and deep muscle and bone aches.

A heroin addict may resist recovery for a number of reasons, one of which is the "dope sickness" they face when they quit. They may also have become convinced that the only way they can function or feel any pleasure at all is when they use heroin.

By administering a complex of vitamins and minerals specifically designed to help the recovering addict, withdrawal symptoms can be greatly alleviated.

Tolerance, Addiction, and Withdrawal With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced or stopped. Withdrawal, which in regular abusers may occur as early as a few hours after the last administration, produces drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps ("cold turkey"), kicking movements ("kicking the habit"), and other symptoms. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal, although heroin withdrawal is considered much less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal.

Are there any other problems that can occur from heroin addiction? Heroin can cause feelings of depression, which may last for weeks. Attempts to stop using heroin can fail simply because the withdrawal can be overwhelming, causing the addict to use more heroin in an attempt to overcome these symptoms. This overpowering addiction can cause the addict to do anything to get heroin.