A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin use disorder, including both behavioral and pharmacological (medications). Heroin is a highly addictive and illegal opioid drug. It may give you a rush of good feelings when you use it, but you can overdose if you take too much of it. If your heart rate and breathing slow too much, you may die. Your medical team can help you find the treatment plan that works best for you.
Most states (except sun rock strain Kansas and Wyoming) have Good Samaritan Laws that legally protect people who get medical help for someone who is overdosing. Anyone can carry naloxone, and many health experts think it’s something everyone should have at home. If you think someone is overdosing, take action right away.
Heroin was first introduced in 1898 as an upgrade to morphine. At the time, morphine was the latest and greatest cough-suppressing medicine for people with asthma. If you think a friend or family member is using heroin, don’t wait and hope things will get better. The liver starts to break what foods contain alcohol down (or metabolize) heroin within minutes. If someone took your blood, they could only detect the pure form of the drug for about 5 minutes. But heroin metabolites may stick around in your urine or hair for 2-4 days or longer.
What causes heroin addiction?
It can look like a white or brown powder or a sticky black tar. It’s also called horse, smack, junk, and brown sugar, among other names. There are various kinds of treatments for opioid use disorder.
Heroin withdrawal symptoms
- If you’re concerned you or someone else may have overdosed on heroin, calling 911 or local emergency services may ensure you’re evaluated as soon as possible.
- Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offer free resources to get you started.
- A person on heroin may not look like they’re “on drugs.” They may just seem sleepy.
- This emergency medication can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Talk to your doctor or go to a substance use clinic if you can’t stop using heroin on your own or you’re afraid of what might happen to your body and mind once you quit. Medication can help lessen your drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Medications can make it easier to wean your body off heroin and reduce cravings.
Is Heroin Illegal?
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offer free resources to get you started. You can join support groups at any stage of recovery. Generally speaking, the detection window tends to be shorter if you inject heroin than if you snort or smoke it. Detection windows also tend to be shorter if you use heroin infrequently, compared with chronic or frequent use. Injection is one of the most common methods, but you have to dissolve the product before drawing it up into a syringe.
The U.S. opioid overdose death rate rose by 14% from 2020 to 2021. Some of these deaths happen because heroin is laced with other drugs, such as the powerful painkiller fentanyl. Fentanyl has become one of the leading contributors to overdose deaths in the U.S.
Where to find support for heroin addiction
Long-term use of heroin can create potentially permanent changes to whippets balloons the structure of your brain. It may leave you with challenging hormonal and neuronal system imbalances. The term “opioid” is a catch-all used to describe synthetic, semi-synthetic, and naturally occurring opioids. Over time, you may need more and more of it to experience the same effects.