Heroin
Heroin is an opiate, which means it comes from the opium poppy. Like other opiates, it can be eaten, inhaled, smoked, or injected. Because the body quickly builds up a tolerance to heroin, users can become addicted rapidly. The euphoric and tranquilizing effects of heroin come at a high price: regular use can lead to kidney dysfunction, pneumonia, lung abscesses, and brain disorders, depending on how the drug is taken. Those who inject the drug also risk skin abscesses, phlebitis (inflammation of a vein, often accompanied by formation of a blood clot), scarring, hepatitis, and HIV infection.
The drug methadone, itself addictive but much less so than heroin, is often used to treat heroin addiction; the person may need to take it for the rest of his or her life. Methadone treatment is usually given on an outpatient basis under a physician’s supervision.
