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Heroin (diacetylmorphine)

Tommyboy

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
14,260
The Basics


Introduction and Basic Description

Heroin is an opiate narcotic, central nervous system depressant. Desired effects include euphoria, empathy, sleepiness or "the nod" and analgesic (pain killing) properties.

Timeline of Experience
The onset, peak, and duration of heroin all depend on the ROA.
IV- onset 0-30 seconds, peak T+ 15minutes, plateau T+30minutes-2hours, Afterglow T+2-4hours, end of experience T3-4hours.
IM- onset 5 minutes, peak T + 25 minutes, plateau T+ 40 minutes- 2.5 hours, Afterglow 2.5-5 hours, end of experience T+ 5 hours.

Nasal- onset takes about 10 minutes, the peak occurs after about 30-45 minutes, the plateau lasts for 2-3 hours, with the experience ending after around 5 or 6 hours. Depending on the users tolerance, there may be an afterglow until the user goes to sleep (if taken early in the day) or in the morning (if the user took the drug late at night).

Smoking- onset 0-30 seconds, peak T+ _____, plateau T _____, Afterglow T+ ____, end of experience T _____.


Effects
The effects of heroin depend on both dose, ROA, and tolerance.
The euphoric and analgesic effects are felt, but the extent will depend on the above factors.
In lower doses, many users experience an increase in energy and become more social due to the lift in mood that heroin brings about. They may talk more than usual and express their feelings, and do things that require energy such as cooking, cleaning, etc.
In higher doses the drug is more sedating. This is when users experience "the nod." Nodding out is when the user is in a dream-like state of euphoria in which they are aware of their surroundings, but they close their eyes and let their mind wander while they are in this state of extreme euphoria.
Some highs will start of energetic and stimulating, and when the drug peaks the user will then feel the more sedating effects of the drug.

Dosages


Method of administration
Describe method. This should generally be a link to an individual page describing that method (e.g. IV, orally). Add in this section anything that is relevant to that method FOR THIS DRUG.
Method 1
Method 2

Slang
Gear, dope, smack, skag, diesel, brown, H, boi, dog food, raw, scramble, tar, balloons, chiva, hammer, horse(y)...

Problems

Contraindications and Overdose
Heroin causes respiratory depression which in high doses or in combination with other CNS depressants can cause overdose.
The other drugs that are central nervous system depressants which are dangerous to mix with heroin include but are not limited to; alcohol, benzodiazepines (alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, etc), barbiturates, and other opiates.

CNS stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamine can cause negative effects when combined with heroin due to the "masking effect" that they cause. What that means is the user may not think that they are that high off of the heroin because the stimulant drugs are masking the effects of the heroin. The user, thinking that the heroin isn't that strong, may then take another dose of heroin to get the effects they are after and end up overdosing once the stimulants wear off.

Other substances that can cause complications when taken with heroin are drugs that effect the metabolism of heroin due to their interaction with the same liver enzymes that break down the drug. White grapefruit juice and cimetidine (tagamet) are a few of the drugs that interact with the metabolism of heroin, and can cause dangerous interaction.

In the event of overdose, the opioid antagonist Narcan (naloxone) is administered to treat the overdose. For more information on this, read Managing Opioid Overdose.

Many of the problems associated with heroin are due to improper and unsafe IV technique, as well as unknown purity and cuts associated with street heroin.

Negative Short-Term Side Effects
Nausea, vomiting, itching, rash, constipation, urinary retention, and a decrease in reaction time.

Negative Long-Term Side Effects
Constipation, dependence, decreased sex drive, irritability, and depression.

Addiction and Withdrawal Issues

Harm Reduction
When discussing harm reduction for heroin, it can be split up into harm reduction for heroin, and harm reduction for IV use.
Heroin:
  • Always start with a low dose and work your way up. It is very important to do this so that you "test" the purity of the heroin before doing a regular dose. You can do this by doing a "test shot" if you IV, or by snorting or smoking a small amount first, whether you IV or use the other ROAs. This is especially important to do after abstaining from use for a longer period of time than usual. Most overdoses occur when a person uses for the first time after a break, and they do not decrease their dose enough to account for their drop in tolerance.
  • Never use alone. You should have somebody with you in case you overdose so that they can call the paramedics (911/999) and administer rescue breathing for you while waiting for the paramedics to come.
  • Obtain Narcan (naloxone) to have for emergency situations. Different states and countries have different laws on allowing people to obtain this drug. Some states will give out this drug as well as train you in how to use it in the even of an overdose. Please look up resources for this drug in your area, and obtain this drug if at all possible.
  • Do not combine heroin with other CNS depressants. The list of dangerous combinations is located above in the section of Contraindications and Overdose.

IV use:
  • Always do a "test shot" to gauge the strength of the heroin that you have.
  • Use a new syringe each time that you IV. Depending on your location and state laws, you may have needle exchanges in your area that will provide you with new syringes as well as other IV equipment. They may also have Narcan that they give out as part of their overdose prevention initiative.
  • Micron filter your shots. If you don't have access to micron filters at your needle exchange or other HR resources in your area, you can order them online. If you are still unable to have access to them, then make sure to filter multiple times before IVing the solution.
  • Do not heat the solution. Some of the cuts in heroin are not soluble in room temperature water, and therefore should be left out of your shot. Heating the solution may allow these cuts to dissolve into the solution, make it through the filter into your shot, and precipitate out of the shot once in your veins. From there they can collect in your system which can cause damage in several ways.
  • Untie the tourniquet before pushing down on the plunger to avoid blowing out a vein.
  • Disinfect the injection site before and after IVing by using an alcohol wipe over the area.
  • Never share injection equipment, including spoons, touriquets, cottons, micron filters, etc. Hepatitis can be spread by sharing these things and is not only spread through the use of shared syringes, so it is essential to use all new IV equipment every time you IV.
Legal Issues
Explain briefly the legal status of the substance, in as many jurisdictions as possible, but focus obviously on BL's userbase: the USA, Australia, the UK and Canada. Probably link to other pages which explain the drug classification system in that country - e.g. create a page which explains what the US schedules mean, and link to that.

Background and Chemistry

History of Drug
Brief history e.g. MDMA patented by Merck then basically forgotten, Shulgin synths it out of interest in its similarity with MDA. The Texas crew, then Ibiza, the Euros getting into it in a big way, link to rave culture, etc. Talk about current situation.

Chemistry
A chance for the ADD crew to go crazy. Use pictures!

Preparation
You wouldn't necessarily include this - possibly for drugs like crack where you have to put some effort into making them. You can include e.g. preparing ketamine powder from liquid, making crack from coke, etc. DO NOT include anything relating to synthesis! We're talking about taking a pre-existing drug and altering its form to make it easier/better to use, NOT making a drug from other chemicals.

Mechanism of Action
More ADD stuff, talk about neurotransmitters and GABA and SERT receptors and stuff.

Trip reports and links

Trip Reports
Probably a paragraph giving links to cool TRs here and on other sites. Don't re-write or copy/paste the whole trip report.

Links
Erowid and Wikipedia for a start. Anything else that might be relevant.
 
Last edited:
I know that there is a heroin page in the wiki already, but it is just basic background info.

Znegative, I was thinking that your info on dosage can go in here. You can link your cotton fever info into here as well. Also I need people that have used the other ROAs to fill in that area.
 
mine would be

IV- onset 0-30 seconds, peak T+ 15min, plateau T+30m-2hr, Afterglow T+2-4hr, end of experience T3-4hr.
 
^ Thank you, I will edit that in. Any smokers out there care to help out?
 
id add horse to the slang terms. I know theres so many slang terms but I think that one is pretty widely used
 
^ Added. I had been debating on adding that one, but didn't know if it was horse or horsey. I remember when I was talking to a retired detective about H he referred to it as horsey.

thanks for taking the time to do this :)

No problem. Znegative is going to send me some info to add to this, and then I will finish most of the rest. The ADD staff or any other competent members can help with the Chemistry and Mechanism of Action sections.
 
Hammer is one of the most common slang terms coined for Heroin in Australia.
 
Thank you, TommoyBoy!!! I'll get that switched up soon, when I'm not on a pesky ipad...

*****JUST WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE TO PROVIDING SOLID SOURCES FOR THE INFORMATION YOU SUPPLY, so if amyone wants to contribute, please even give just a small clue as to the legitimacy of the remark. After all, it very well could be the difference between life and death for somebody!!

Thank you once more for each & every word you've written!!!!
 
^ thanks. It still needs a few more little sections done before being complete, and I actually skipped the dosage section t first because I need a good source for that.
 
I'm not finished but am about to pass out and have to get up for work in 20 mins, so I'm gonna stop here and finish the rest later. Let me know what all of you with an interest in this think, please! Again - not even close to formatting that thing the whole way :)

~ Vaya
 
i think bioavailability would be something good to have on with different ROA's.

here is a list

Heroin: IV 100%; IM 85%; rectal ~85%; smoked 52-55%; sniffed 44-61%; oral ~35%

taken from here i've just formatted it in descending order and added rectal. i've tried hard to find concrete data on this but can't find any besides anecdotal so may not be worth including, but it seems that plugging dose is slightly higher than IV so seems about right? but is also affected but whether you've had a big shit before plugging, how far in you squirt etc.
 
i think bioavailability would be something good to have on with different ROA's.

here is a list

Heroin: IV 100%; IM 85%; rectal ~85%; smoked 52-55%; sniffed 44-61%; oral ~35%

taken from here i've just formatted it in descending order and added rectal. i've tried hard to find concrete data on this but can't find any besides anecdotal so may not be worth including, but it seems that plugging dose is slightly higher than IV so seems about right? but is also affected but whether you've had a big shit before plugging, how far in you squirt etc.

a big thank you for the information and reference :) they've both been added, however the information I felt belonged more under the Pharmacokinetics subsection of "Mechanism of Action," versus timeline of experience.

And yes, at 100% BA, plugging would require a higher dosage, regardless of the amount of feces in the rectum.

I've added all of you as contributors in the 'credits' section at the end, btw :) Thank you all!
 
Can you edit the link into the text on the wiki page under the Contraindications and Overdose section where it says "For more information on this, read Managing Opioid Overdose?" The url for the Managing Opioid Overdose page is:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/606306-Managing-opioid-overdose-including-naloxone
 
Can you edit the link into the text on the wiki page under the Contraindications and Overdose section where it says "For more information on this, read Managing Opioid Overdose?" The url for the Managing Opioid Overdose page is:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/606306-Managing-opioid-overdose-including-naloxone

Thank you for starting this thread, Tommyboy! Heroin is a drug that requires indepth knowledge on the part of the user (which is not really the case with most other recreational drugs) if he or she is to have a fair shot at survival. The potential for overdose and death is at its highest level during the initial usage period before tolerance is built-up.

It is also very dangerous when someone stops using after a long period of daily use then "picks-up". Our local community of heroin users recently lost a dear friend who had been using daily for most of his 62 years. He had been arrested and held for 30 days because he couldn't make bail. When he was released the first thing he wanted to do was to get a shot of herion. He should have decreased the size of his dose after the layoff, but he made the mistake that so many people make and injected the same dose he had been injecting before he was locked-up, and as you know, it turned out to be his last. This is very sad because his death could have been prevented if some basic precautions had been taken.

You mentioned narcan. Every heroin user should be trained in CPR and equipted with a narcan kit, and we need to make sure everyone understands that you cannot save yourself from an overdose with narcan -- you can only save another person -- so you need to make sure the people you use with are well trained and know HOW, WHEN AND HOW MUCH to administer narcan!!! If only I had been with my friend when he overdosed he might be alive today. The person he WAS with didn't know CPR and my friend's brain was deprived of oxygen (after 4 minutes without oxygen brain damage begins) for far too long.

I am sorry for going on about my friend's death -- I'm still hurting and I just think it is SO, SO important that anyone considering using heroin understands that the risk of overdose and death is very real.
 
^ Well it's good that you mentioned that because I am going to have that added to the harm reduction part of this page.

Vaya, under the harm reduction section I edited the first bullet under the heroin part to expand upon test shots, and lowering doses after taking breaks. Please add that to the wiki, and edit it if you can make it sound better or more organized.

Thanks
 
^ thanks. It still needs a few more little sections done before being complete, and I actually skipped the dosage section t first because I need a good source for that.
Most users of Dia-Morph aka Heroin don't know that from a Pharmocology standpoint all Heroin is a pro-drug of Morphine. The Diacytleation of Morphine makes it more lipid soluable, thus crosses the BBB faster. Once Heroine is in your system it is quickly broken down to plain ol Morphine. The only difference between iv use of Heroin or Morphine sulfate is that iv heroin use has a more profound "Smack" to the back of the head. However, iv use of 100mg provides a decent smack. Smoking the H provides no smack feeling. That is just what I heard :)
 
Most users of Dia-Morph aka Heroin don't know that from a Pharmocology standpoint all Heroin is a pro-drug of Morphine. The Diacytleation of Morphine makes it more lipid soluable, thus crosses the BBB faster. Once Heroine is in your system it is quickly broken down to plain ol Morphine. The only difference between iv use of Heroin or Morphine sulfate is that iv heroin use has a more profound "Smack" to the back of the head. However, iv use of 100mg provides a decent smack. Smoking the H provides no smack feeling. That is just what I heard :)

i do know heroin turns to morphine in your body but as a heroin addict feel that heroin in NO WAY feels anything at all like morphine. morphine is a crappy drug IMO. i do however know another heroin addict that also happens to be allergic to morphine...they still IV smack but sometimes...and usually in the case that they miss a vein...they break out into a rash all around the IV area...but otherwise they are fine...it's an extremely odd thing and makes absolutely no sense to me.
 
i do know heroin turns to morphine in your body but as a heroin addict feel that heroin in NO WAY feels anything at all like morphine. morphine is a crappy drug IMO.

I'm the same way as you. Also, Opiate-Tool is incorrect in his statement that heroin just becomes plain ol morphine. Heroin first breaks down to 6-MAM, which is responsible for a lot of the effects. Here is a thread on it.
 
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