Pharmacological Classification

• Heroin is a semisynthetic opiate derived from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant.

Uses of Opiates

• The pharmaceutical industry extracts drugs like morphine and codeine for medical use because of their analgesic or pain relieving qualities.

History of Heroin in the United States

• Heroin was introduced in 1898 as a drug given to people to help them with an addiction to morphine. However, at the turn of the century doctors realized that heroin had even greater addictive properties than morphine and the government outlawed its use.

Legal Classification

• Today heroin is classified as a Class A narcotic that is illegal to produce, distribute, or possess.

Physical Properties/Identifiers

• Heroin is usually sold in a white or brownish powder form, although in some areas it is sold in the form of a black sticky substance known as "black tar" heroin.
• Street names for heroin include smack, H, skag, junk, horse, shit. Distributors of heroin often assign "brand names" to their products to enhance rumors of their strength or effects ("Death Wish", "DOA", "Evening's Delight", and "Magic").
• Although street heroin is being sold in a purer form today than in the past, most is still often diluted with glucose powder, chalk, caffeine, quinine, flour, talcum powder and other substances.

Dangers of Heroin Use

• Users of heroin are at risk for overdose, illness from contaminants or death with each administration because they can never be sure of the actual strength of the drug or its true contents.
• It is now known that all opioids (including naturally occurring opiate derivatives and synthetic opiate-related drugs) can produce physical and psychological dependence.