• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Harm Reduction ⫸Should I Try HEROIN?⫷

Since this is a harm reduction site then I'll say if you DO decide to try it , make sure you follow the basic rules of safety ... 1) tolerance 1st ... 2) batch tested to be sure no fent because that'll kill you. 3) have a sitter. 4) decide which ROA - 1st time you should snort & realise you can OD even on snorting 5) don't mix drugs - heroin & Benzos/alcohol/other drugs can prove fatal.

I tried crack in 1994 & was not impressed. The high was quick (10 - 15 mins max) & left me with a hella headache.

My love/hate affair with heroin has been going on 2 yrs now. Blah.

If you have that "trigger" in your brain that loves opiate highs you may become addicted. Then again , you may try it once & never do it again. Be safe in whatever decision you make.

Thanks for the advice, Shaleh. I ended up doing all of those (1-5). Unfortunately, I relapsed last night... I do have that "trigger" in my brain, I LOVE opiates. There is only 1 thing I love more than them... My parents. Opiates come in second place... :/ (which is kinda sad). I'm an introvert, and for some reason, opiates fill that void in my life that nothing else can. They make me happy and I actually want to talk and be around people. Ive been using them pretty much since I sophomore in high school (over 11 years now). Somehow Ive always had access to them ever since then. Tonight was my second night of using again and haven't had any problems. My dose is usually pretty small (currently 15mgs), but I always have 16mg of Narcan sitting next to me just in case. I don't like nodding out, I usually just watch movies or play some games. Thankfully I do have a full-time job (Firefighter/Paramedic) and everything in my life seems to be going good. I have a love-hate relationship with it as well. I know I shouldn't be doing it, but im not hurting anyone... so I really dont see that big deal. Ive only used right before bedtime, to help relax me. (sorry I know im rambling on, thats what opiates do to me lol)
 
Last edited:
Let me tell you, it sucks to have destroyed a promising future due to abusing this one. It is so addictive why risk everything when yeah the high is good but so is life. There is also a big chance the high will suck if it isn't for you, and you will have no idea your natural tolerance or the purity. By the time you do, you'd be on your way to all day every day... usually snorting in the beginning depending on location, at least here. If you hate yourself and want to die and are actually like that and not faking yourself then by all means you will attract shit like this into your life. It is obviously no good there isn't really much to be said just look at some of the people who were addicted and what happened to them there are horror stories everywhere. Why for a stupid high that you'll probably want to repeat.

edit - I do not mean to imply the high is stupid. It enhanced my intelligence, creative, and motivation. Made life a breeze until it didn't. I'll never be the same and it's totally a drag, man. Wish I had stuck with the herb. I meant that the idea of using the drug is stupid it isn't even diacetylmorphine anymore otherwise I'd probably relapse.
 
Thanks for the advice, Shaleh. I ended up doing all of those (1-5). Unfortunately, I relapsed last night... I do have that "trigger" in my brain, I LOVE opiates. There is only 1 thing I love more than them... My parents. Opiates come in second place... :/ (which is kinda sad). I'm an introvert, and for some reason, opiates fill that void in my life that nothing else can. They make me happy and I actually want to talk and be around people. Ive been using them pretty much since I sophomore in high school (over 11 years now). Somehow Ive always had access to them ever since then. Tonight was my second night of using again and haven't had any problems. My dose is usually pretty small (currently 15mgs), but I always have 16mg of Narcan sitting next to me just in case. I don't like nodding out, I usually just watch movies or play some games. Thankfully I do have a full-time job (Firefighter/Paramedic) and everything in my life seems to be going good. I have a love-hate relationship with it as well. I know I shouldn't be doing it, but im not hurting anyone... so I really dont see that big deal. Ive only used right before bedtime, to help relax me. (sorry I know im rambling on, thats what opiates do to me lol)

Both of my parents are deceased & mom's death triggered me into a helluva binge the past year. I went to counseling because I'm the one who found her , but nothing has helped.
It's great you love your parents. Treasure them while they're here!

Like you , I have that trigger button & addictive personality. Whether it be a hobby , work or drugs, I have to take it to the extreme! And my love of opiates started early , but heroin has ruined my receptors to the point I don't get pleasure from use anymore.

Take care , Chris!
 
Oh man, no, don't try it.

I was on methadone for about 1.5 years (not prescribed) before I couldn't find it anymore. That's when I realized I was getting dope sick, I had to do something quick. I had a friend who was like "I can get H" and i protested. But my protests were defeated by my sickness.

But I disagree with the OP, H is just another opiate. Sure it has some properties that give you the rush and all, but it's just another opiate and I don't think it's any more addictive than any other opiate/opiod. But I'm also a poly addict and will get addicted to anything that provides a high. (Currently on a benzo taper from the doc after consuming 350mg of alprazolam in two months)

That being said, my friend told me a pinky finger nail sized piece (maybe .2g) would be plenty (black tar btw). Turns out the dope sucked or my tolerance was too high already from the methadone. I ended up smoking .5g of it to get where I wanted (already not cheaper than pills)

It only took 6 months before i was at over 2g a day and decided to try shooting it. I have type 1 diabetes so I was practiced in being sterile. That made my .75g requirement with smoking it to drop down to .5g, sometimes less. (Now it's finally cheaper than pills again).

The problem is, when shooting it you get the rush that can't be beat by anything except maybe a powerful orgasm. Thats the thing to chase. I've had a couple abscesses, one in my ankle (8 weeks in the hospital) where i almost lost my foot. They thought the in infection was in the bone is why. And another in my knee. They did surgeries on both abscesses. Funny thing is, i left the hospital for the foot infection with a prescription for 60 OC 20's and 120 oxy 5's (monthly)

I've also OD'd in public bathrooms, not fatally thankfully. But I'm sure i was near death. Out of body, ego death, and just like a dmt trip.

From there on out i shot until i went to prison for my first time. 1 year for simple possession of the H, some stolen goods, and commercial burglary. Yes, i got let off very easy. Within 2 days of being released I went straight back to H. That's when i moved back to Portland where the dope is actually good. .1g is equal to .5g of the crap i was getting in northern Washington (right on the Canadian border which has the real good heroin, and i always thought it was interesting that it never made it's way down into Washington.) I stayed in Portland for about 4 months before i moved to Seattle. (Homeless from the second i got out of prison btw). Anyway Seattle was good to me, my usual hustles benefited greatly from that city. Within 2 months of Seattle street junkie life i found myself back on the way to prison. Nearly the same charges as before.

This time, when i got out DOC paid for three months rent in a clean and sober house, as well as parole/probation for a year. I drank, and did a ton of psychedelics during that probation period. I've even showed up drunk to DOC appointments, but they didnt test for alcohol ;) During my time in the sober house i was forced to go to AA or NA meetings where i met a bunch of great people. AA/NA wasnt really my thing so i stopped going but stayed clean, besides the drinking. That one year of DOC probation also encouraged me to go to school. I've nearly finished my associates degree now and have been clean from opiates since i was released in 2012. Yeah, school is taking me too long, and i decided i probably won't finish.

Oh, i forgot to mention the crack. I started in Seattle. Seattle has tons of crack, like it's the late 80's still. Lol
I would wake up in the middle of the night for a shot of H and a hit off the crack pipe and right back to bed.

Long story short, heroin ruined my life and I'm still recovering 6-7 years later.
 
Last edited:
Pros and Cons of heroin:

Pros:
Creativity

Cons:
Addiction so intense you feel an INABILITY to stop
Overdose
Cotton Fever - VERY SCARY!
Track Marks
Abscesses
Bacterial Infection
Hepatitis C
Jaundice
Cirrhosis of Liver
Death
General Degredation of Health
SEVERE depression
SEVERE anxiety
Isolation
Inability to cure pain in event of injury due to opiate tolerance
Withdrawal (fear, pain, depression, freezing cold, burning hot, soaked sweaty, irrational actions, vomiting, diahrrea)
Willingness to Commit Crime
Jail
Prison
Vomiting
Sulfury Gas Sickness (can last for many days)
Blotched Face
Dark Eyes
Inability to get an Erection
Inability to Orgasm
For many addicts Inabilty to get laid period
 
Last edited:
Pros and Cons of heroin:

Pros:
Creativity

Cons:
Addiction so intense you feel an INABILITY to stop
Overdose
Cotton Fever - VERY SCARY!
Track Marks
Abscesses
Bacterial Infection
Hepatitis C
Jaundice
Cirrhosis of Liver
Death
General Degredation of Health
SEVERE depression
SEVERE anxiety
Isolation
Inability to cure pain in event of injury due to opiate tolerance
Withdrawal (fear, pain, depression, freezing cold, burning hot, soaked sweaty, irrational actions, vomiting, diahrrea)
Willingness to Commit Crime
Jail
Prison
Vomiting
Sulfury Gas Sickness (can last for many days)
Blotched Face
Dark Eyes
Inability to get an Erection
Inability to Orgasm
For many addicts Inabilty to get laid period

Really? Creativity? I’ve never really heard that as a pro before. I know I feel super motivated on opiates. Before the crash anyway
 
Pros and Cons of heroin:

Pros:
Creativity

Cons:
Addiction so intense you feel an INABILITY to stop
Overdose
Cotton Fever - VERY SCARY!
Track Marks
Abscesses
Bacterial Infection
Hepatitis C
Jaundice
Cirrhosis of Liver
Death
General Degredation of Health
SEVERE depression
SEVERE anxiety
Isolation
Inability to cure pain in event of injury due to opiate tolerance
Withdrawal (fear, pain, depression, freezing cold, burning hot, soaked sweaty, irrational actions, vomiting, diahrrea)
Willingness to Commit Crime
Jail
Prison
Vomiting
Sulfury Gas Sickness (can last for many days)
Blotched Face
Dark Eyes
Inability to get an Erection
Inability to Orgasm
For many addicts Inabilty to get laid period

Mmmmm no. That's not a reason not to use heroin, that's propaganda.

If I thought someone was gonna start using heroin, I'd get on my knees and beg them not to if I thought it might work. I'm not going to dispute how enormously distructive it can be. But you gotta tell people the real dangers. And sorry but that's not what this is. This is propaganda.

The real dangers of heroin are largely subtle and easily not recognized by someone who hasn't experienced a serious heroin addiction. Which is why it's so tempting to fall on propaganda. It's far easier to convey to people than the truth.

But the problem with propaganda is its ineffective. Anyone likely to use drugs is likely gonna realise at some point that it's propaganda and write it all off.

And it is propaganda. Probably half of that list isn't actually a result of heroin. That doesn't mean you shouldn't mention whats likely to happen in heroin addiction that isn't a direct pharmacological side effect of heroin. But it does mean you need to honestly distinguish the negatives of heroin itself from the negatives of the culture and environment surrounding heroin use.

And the pros list is kinda absurd. I mean I wouldn't consider creativity a pro of heroin, but there are pros of heroin. Like euphoria, management of depression, killing pain. There are legitimate pros. It's just that the overall net result is almost always very bad.

What I'm getting at here, is discouraging people from using drugs has to be based on complete honesty. That's all.
 
Mmmmm no. That's not a reason not to use heroin, that's propaganda.


The real dangers of heroin are largely subtle and easily not recognized by someone who hasn't experienced a serious heroin addiction.

such as?
 
Dont ever do it would be my advice.Once its in your bones it never leaves you think you escaped but it never goes away. You choose it over the people who you love
 
Dont ever do it would be my advice.Once its in your bones it never leaves you think you escaped but it never goes away. You choose it over the people who you love

Yeah codeine got in my bones ill never forget how it felt the first time
 
Such as the kind of stuff I've previously said in this thread.

The real danger is how repeatedly using heroin and the kinda environment you have to expose yourself to in order to get it does an excellent job of compromising your better judgement.

Simply listing a bunch of cons with no real pros with no context is propaganda. That doesn't mean of course that the negatives listed under cons won't happen, but it means theres a lot more to it that shouldn't be glossed over.

Like take part of this list.

Abscesses
Bacterial Infection
Hepatitis C
Jaundice
Cirrhosis of Liver

Heroin doesn't itself cause any of those things. But a heroin using lifestyle does. Addiction, at least in my experience, involves a lot of mental justifications. If I were trying to justify continuing to use, I'd just ignore that list because none of it directly results from heroin use. I'd simply tell myself "well I won't use dirty needles/I'll take every precaution".

Of course that's no more accurate to reality than the list itself. It's more propaganda. It's just it's your own mental propaganda to yourself to justify continuing to use.

In reality a severe out of conctrol heroin addiction will tend to lead to situations where you take risks. It's the reality that I think should be explained to people.

And, since you asked, I would say that the reality is that heroin in itself isn't some evil toxic drug. It's just a fast acting euphoric opioid. And that property in itself doesn't inherently have to lead to all the negatives of heroin addiction.

But there are certain realities of the world we live in that lead to that conclusion regardless. Specifically that it is illegal, socially stigmatized, and that the nature of opioid withdrawal is highly corrupting to good judgement and willpower. Which wouldn't be a problem if you were able to constantly, cheaply and reliably buy good clean heroin. That would eliminate most of the negatives. But that's simply not possible right now. And regardless of how bullshit that is, it results in an environment where getting severely into a heroin addiction will tend to lead to at least some of the more serious side effects.

That's the reality if you ask me. Not just a bunch of empty propaganda with no real context. Because that empty propaganda can be so easily dismissed by people want to use. Dismissing the complex reality is much harder.

Simply saying heroin use causes hep c for example is propaganda and easily dismissed. Explaining how even with no intention to ever share or reuse needles, there's a very high likelyhood that eventually it'll either be do that, or continue withdrawal in spite of the ability to end it and feel good again in an instant, and that you may overestimate your willpower not to take that risk, is much harder to just ignore.

Everything bad I've ever done either morally or health wise because of heroin addiction has tended to be because of that situation. Because it's been a case of either do that, or face withdrawal. With the constant knowledge that the withdrawal can end as soon as you do the bad thing. Not to mention opioid withdrawal isn't just about the pain, there's also an irrational mental aspect to it that convinces you that withdrawal is world ending, even if rationally you know it's not. Which itself is also an aspect of withdrawal I've never seen talked about because it's subtle. But extremely influential.

Sorry for such a long reply, but you asked what I would say the reality is, and the reality is complex and subtle and not easily boiled down to simple easily repeated messages.
 
Last edited:
I know we're on a thread about H and I do enjoy my opiates a bit too much but for all the people on here talking about trying "just one time" I will have to go back in time quite a little bit to my early twenties with a different type of drug, but the moral to the story is still there.

For pretty much as long as I could remember (the first time I ever heard about it) i always wanted to try coke. I always told myself it was a one time thing. I had been doing some shady shit for a couple years by that time so I was incredibly well connected at that point. One day randomly one of my people who bought from me asked if I could find some coke. I got an ounce (lowest amount my connect would sell) and figured I could always try a little baby line and get rid of the rest.

I tried it once.
the "one time" I was going to try it.

15 minutes later I told myself "well, _____ only wants a teener so I've got plenty left over. I guess just one more wouldn't hurt."

15 minutes later... just one more. I've still got plenty...

I didn't know it at the time, but looking back all these years later I CLEARLY see it now. I might not have been physically dependent the first time but I 100% was mentally dependent on it from the very first line. And that carried me as far as it needed to.

4 months and about $100,000 later I had lost all the money gained over 2.5 years AND had to file bankruptcy, overdosed once, had two psychotic breaks, and weighed 135lbs at 6'2.

Although this story isn't about H, it is the story of what can happen when you tell yourself "I'll only try this one time."

Lastly, just in case my point hasn't been made enough, I ABSOLUTELY KNEW this would be a one time thing going into it.
 
I know we're on a thread about H and I do enjoy my opiates a bit too much but for all the people on here talking about trying "just one time" I will have to go back in time quite a little bit to my early twenties with a different type of drug, but the moral to the story is still there.

For pretty much as long as I could remember (the first time I ever heard about it) i always wanted to try coke. I always told myself it was a one time thing. I had been doing some shady shit for a couple years by that time so I was incredibly well connected at that point. One day randomly one of my people who bought from me asked if I could find some coke. I got an ounce (lowest amount my connect would sell) and figured I could always try a little baby line and get rid of the rest.

I tried it once.
the "one time" I was going to try it.

15 minutes later I told myself "well, _____ only wants a teener so I've got plenty left over. I guess just one more wouldn't hurt."

15 minutes later... just one more. I've still got plenty...

I didn't know it at the time, but looking back all these years later I CLEARLY see it now. I might not have been physically dependent the first time but I 100% was mentally dependent on it from the very first line. And that carried me as far as it needed to.

4 months and about $100,000 later I had lost all the money gained over 2.5 years AND had to file bankruptcy, overdosed once, had two psychotic breaks, and weighed 135lbs at 6'2.

Although this story isn't about H, it is the story of what can happen when you tell yourself "I'll only try this one time."

Lastly, just in case my point hasn't been made enough, I ABSOLUTELY KNEW this would be a one time thing going into it.

Even though that was coke, and I'm a heroin addict not a coke addict, I can highly relate to what you're saying.

Addiction progresses through millions of small justifications pushing the line you won't cross ever so slightly back bit by bit.

It's complete nonsense when people suggest you could become dependant after a single use of some drug. But it absolutely is possible for someone with the right propensity for addiction to a particular drug, to become mentally addicted to it from the very first time they tried it.

I fortunately haven't encountered that with stimulants, or Marijuana, or alcohol, or most drugs. But I have with opioids, and to a lesser extent cigarettes.

From the moment I first tried opioid drugs all those years ago, I was hooked. And I've wanted to keep using them ever since. And over the years it has resulted in me doing many things I once would have honestly said I was absolutely positive I'd never do.
 
Even though that was coke, and I'm a heroin addict not a coke addict, I can highly relate to what you're saying.

Addiction progresses through millions of small justifications pushing the line you won't cross ever so slightly back bit by bit.

It's complete nonsense when people suggest you could become dependant after a single use of some drug. But it absolutely is possible for someone with the right propensity for addiction to a particular drug, to become mentally addicted to it from the very first time they tried it.

I fortunately haven't encountered that with stimulants, or Marijuana, or alcohol, or most drugs. But I have with opioids, and to a lesser extent cigarettes.

From the moment I first tried opioid drugs all those years ago, I was hooked. And I've wanted to keep using them ever since. And over the years it has resulted in me doing many things I once would have honestly said I was absolutely positive I'd never do.
I know this is slightly off topic here but don't worry, I'll bring it back on topic by the end of this post. Haha.

it's amazing how different people react differently to different drugs. (Outside of a few surgeries I had when I was 11 and 12 years old which i don't really count) I tried opiates for the first time (had 4 percocet 10's) when i was 15 years old. I loved them, but by no means was i addicted to them. After age 15 I tried them and norco plenty of times never having that addicted feeling. It was always a random couple days to couple weeks (the most taken at that time was 120 lortab 10's (called norco now) in a few weeks time. Also had plenty of alcohol and weed during this time as well. Zero issues.

However the first time for coke just hit me in a way that no other did. And it sounds to me like you're my opposite. Haha.

It wasn't until about 4 years ago that I was injured badly in a freak accident and started getting medication regularly (norco and oxy) that I became addicted to opiates. I did pretty well for a couple years but then found my good ol buddy fentanyl. The past 2 years have been horribly devastating to my life overall (due to opioid use) but last year I finally got off fentanyl, then 3 weeks ago the rest of them. It sucks but I'm starting to come out of the other side of this finally...

This reply was mainly for you but for the sake of keeping in line with the original post...

Moral of this story: everyone is different. Some people get addicted (mentally) the very first time they try a drug.(I feel coke and heroin are probably at the top of the list) Others think they are doing good (and might possibly be doing somewhat ok) in the beginning but don't stop until it's too late and they are physically dependent... I've now been both of these.

the one person who almost never actually exists however is the person in between those two. The one who isn't hooked the first time and stops before getting hooked. I'd be willing to guess for every 100 people there might be 1 of these. And I feel that number might even be a little bit of a stretch.

Like I said before. If you think just once is fine Don't try it because whether it ruins your life now or ruins it later the one thing it most likely won't be is something outside one of those two choices.
 
Yeah I largely agree. Some people are vulnerable to addiction to some drugs (and addictive behaviors) but not others.

I can drink alcohol or use meth several times in a week, then put them down and have no desire to continue.

But from the moment I tried opioids, I've never been able to completely get away from them since. I find myself completely unable to effectively control my use of them. While some people experience the opposite, able to use opioids for a short time then stop with little effort, but completely unable to control their use of say... meth or alcohol.

But you can't reliably know what will trigger such instant addictions until it's too late.
 
Does any one know how long pupiles stay dilated during the withdrawal process I have no problem never doing it again but my job can't know I relapsed
 
Yeah I largely agree. Some people are vulnerable to addiction to some drugs (and addictive behaviors) but not others.

I can drink alcohol or use meth several times in a week, then put them down and have no desire to continue.

But from the moment I tried opioids, I've never been able to completely get away from them since. I find myself completely unable to effectively control my use of them. While some people experience the opposite, able to use opioids for a short time then stop with little effort, but completely unable to control their use of say... meth or alcohol.

But you can't reliably know what will trigger such instant addictions until it's too late.

Same here.. I was in denial about it pretending my addiction wasn't as bad but I just took 2025mgs of codeine(don't try this at home kids)to get high.. So that says it all really it still seems blurry the moment I went from 300mg to just retarded monster doses the Time inbetween I got 750mgs left I wish their was a different roa so I could get more out of it

I might even have it when I come down if I do ill probably be buzzing all day tommorow when I wake up, always is when i take these huge doses its so nice but its also the limit my whole 2 week prescription and forget about getting it early again I've probably used my last early prescription excuse card for a while plus I just want to get off or cut down like u said jess when I get the prescription I cant help taking it all or mostly sometimes I save some tabs after the sesh I used to take them for pain and was like I've been blessed to get a prescription especially my age and live no pain

But I made the same mistake everyone makes chasing it all the way to where I am now I am still grateful for the tabs though I dunno some people say drugs make u unhappy which is true but only if your unsatisfied with something like if you put a drug into water it will change the water depending on what drug its like that except the body is the water and whatever negative emotions effect the final product and what the drug does imo but sadly I always have felt a massive void in my life from when I was about 13-14 some days I didn't even have the will to live anymore(deep deppression like my mum)and honestly the only thing that got me through it was weed.


now weed is not as good because of tolerance but that's not the weeds fault its my fault for over indulging and doing a wake n bake every single morning it was my gateway drug though but I stand by my drug use I may have overindulged but they just make ne feel like I'm normal when I'm high if that makes sense
 
I brought some heroin.. It's supposed to be good shot ain't looked at it yet or opened it but man the minute I put it in my pocket I got goosebumps like I'm wondering into something big and exciting and dangerous.. I only plan to use it if the chemist is closed and I'm a lot of pain the guy I got it off said that it can't be shorter because it's poisonous uless I smoke it? I wanted to sniff it as well I don't want people in my house to smell the smoke etc I know it's wasteful but would I feel it if I put some in a split and went for a walk around the block to smoke it?
 
Top