Heroin
Opioid used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names,[1] is a morphinan opioid substance derived from the dried latex of the Papaver somniferum plant and is mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical-grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown powders sold illegally around the world as heroin are routinely diluted with cutting agents. Black tar heroin is a variable admixture of morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine), which is the result of crude acetylation during clandestine production of street heroin.[3] Heroin is used medically in several countries to relieve pain, such as during childbirth or a heart attack, as well as in opioid replacement therapy.[8][9][10]
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| Pronunciation | Heroin: /ˈhɛroʊɪn/ |
| Other names | Diacetylmorphine, acetomorphine, (dual) acetylated morphine, morphine diacetate, Diamorphine[1] (BAN UK) |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | heroin |
| Dependence liability | Very high[2] |
| Addiction liability | Very high[3] |
| Routes of administration | Intravenous, inhalation, transmucosal, by mouth, intranasal, rectal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intrathecal |
| Drug class | Opioid |
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| Bioavailability | <35% (by mouth), 44–61% (inhaled)[4] |
| Protein binding | 0% (morphine metabolite 35%) |
| Metabolism | Liver |
| Onset of action | Within minutes[5] |
| Elimination half-life | 2–3 minutes[6] |
| Duration of action | 4 to 5 hours[7] |
| Excretion | 90% kidney as glucuronides, rest biliary |
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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.008.380  |
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| Formula | C21H23NO5 |
| Molar mass | 369.417 g·mol−1 |
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It is typically injected, usually into a vein, but it can also be snorted, smoked, or inhaled. In a clinical context, the route of administration is most commonly intravenous injection; it may also be given by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, as well as orally in the form of tablets.[11][3][12][13] The onset of effects is usually rapid and lasts for a few hours.[3]
Common side effects include respiratory depression (decreased breathing), dry mouth, drowsiness, impaired mental function, constipation, and addiction.[12] Use by injection can also result in abscesses, infected heart valves, blood-borne infections, and pneumonia.[12] After a history of long-term use, opioid withdrawal symptoms can begin within hours of the last use.[12] When given by injection into a vein, heroin has two to three times the effect of a similar dose of morphine.[3] It typically appears in the form of a white or brown powder.[12]
Treatment of heroin addiction often includes behavioral therapy and medications.[12] Medications can include buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone.[12] A heroin overdose may be treated with naloxone.[12] An estimated 17 million people as of 2015[update] use opiates, of which heroin is the most common,[14][15] and opioid use resulted in 122,000 deaths.[16] The total number of heroin users worldwide as of 2015 is believed to have increased in Africa, the Americas, and Asia since 2000.[17] In the United States, approximately 1.6 percent of people have used heroin at some point.[12][18] When people die from overdosing on a drug, the drug is usually an opioid and often heroin.[14][19]
Heroin was first made by C. R. Alder Wright in 1874 from morphine, a natural product of the opium poppy.[20] Internationally, heroin is controlled under Schedules I and IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs,[21] and it is generally illegal to make, possess, or sell without a license.[22] About 448 tons of heroin were made in 2016.[17] In 2015, Afghanistan produced about 66% of the world's opium.[14] Illegal heroin is often mixed with other substances such as sugar, starch, caffeine, quinine, or other opioids like fentanyl.[3][23]