Heroin

Heroin is also known as hammer, gear, or smack.

Heroin is one of a group of drugs known as opiates. They are natural products of the opium poppy and also include opium, morphine, and codeine. 

In Australia, heroin can be a fine powder, granules or rocks. It is normally white or off-white in colour, although it is sometimes brown. It is normally injected, but is also snorted, smoked, or heated and the vapours inhaled (chasing the dragon). It can be sold ‘cut’ (mixed) with a range of substances that can also be harmful. This makes it hard for the user to know the purity of what’s being taken. 

Heroin is considered to be the second most addictive drug after tobacco.

How many young people have tried it?

According to the 2017 US  secondary schools' survey, 1 in 100 students (1%) aged 12-17 used heroin in the last year.

What are the effects?

Heroin produces a ‘rush’ within seconds of injecting or smoking it. If snorted, it takes about 5 minutes to feel the effects. The effects of heroin can last for approximately 3–5 hours.

Effects of heroin vary, but may include:

Immediate

• Small (‘pinned’) pupils
• Drowsiness and sedation (a state of calm or sleep)
• Pain relief
• Feeling of euphoria (a ‘high’)
• Feelings of detachment
• Nausea and vomiting
• Overdose
• Coma 

Long-term

• Dependence (addiction)
• Dental problems
• Constipation
• If injected there is an increased risk of infections like Hepatitis C and HIV
• Infertility
• Social problems, such as falling-out with friends
• Financial issues such as debt and poverty 

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