Heroin Effects

Equally described as both the salvation and the damnation of organised crime entities in the same breath, heroin, and more specifically, the distribution and sale of it has proven to be an exceptionally lucrative business that people simply cannot resist.

Tragically, for the people who use heroin they leave themselves wide open to a plethora of different health risks and problems, and potentially, place their own life in jeopardy. Heroin effects on the body have been well documented and publicized and yet, despite such valiant efforts by the various organizations, people still continue to use the drug.

First off, it is important to appreciate that heroin effects will differ according to the type of heroin used. This always comes as something of a surprise to a layman, who seems to regard the risks of the narcotic as being universal. Whilst there can be no denying that there is indeed a degree of overlap when it comes to heroin effects between the different forms the drug takes, there is also a sufficient degree of uniqueness that makes a distinction to be made, appropriate.

In the short term, heroin in whatever form it takes will provide the user with a variety of seemingly pleasant and desirable effects and some of these are listed as follows:

• Euphoria (an overwhelming sensation of happiness, contentment and exuberance with the world)
• Numbness and incapacity to feel (a desirable trait for people who lead stressful lives, or who are seeking an escape from some trauma)
• Sensation of drowsiness (anecdotal evidence from heroin users has indicated that despite the fact that the user is fully awake and alert, they "feel" as if asleep)
  

The effectiveness and pleasurable side effects which are induced by heroin is extremely short-lived indeed, and so the general drowsy, contented glow that many heroin users report on a regular basis will ultimately begin to fade within 6-8 hours.

One of the most deeply unsettling and worrying of all heroin effects is how potent it is in terms of addiction and tolerance. Many people will find themselves physically and psychologically dependent upon the drug whereby they are unable to function without another dosage of the drug. The fact that heroin withdrawal can potentially be fatal and involves a variety of deeply unpleasant side effects makes detoxing from the drug, a near unbearable concept for many heroin users.

If a person is to make use of the so called "black tar" heroin (so named due to its black, sticky, appearance) then they will place themselves at a number of increased risks. Specifically, due to the fact that black tar heroin is injected into the vein, and that the substance can solidify during the transition period between its presence in the needle, and entering into the blood vessel into which it has been injected into. The danger here is that the blood vessel then becomes fully blocked up, effectively resulting in an artificially induced blood clot which can cause a myriad of health problems, such as stroke, or heart failure.