Heroin
Street terms for heroin: smack, thunder, hell dust, big H, nose drops
What does heroin look like?
- Pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste.
- Most illicit heroin varies in color from white to dark brown.
- "Black tar" heroin is sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal, and its color may vary from dark brown to black.
How does heroin get to the United States?
- The U.S. heroin market is supplied entirely from foreign sources of opium.
- Production occurs in South America, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia.
How much does heroin cost?
- Nationwide, in 2000, South American heroin ranged from $50,000 to $200,000 per kilogram. Southeast and Southwest
Asian heroin ranged in price from $40,000 to $190,000 per kilogram. Wholesale-level prices for Mexican heroin were
the lowest of any type, ranging from $13,200 to $175,000 per kilogram. The wide range in kilogram prices reflects
variables such as buyer/seller relationships, quantities purchased, purchase frequencies, purity, and transportation costs.
What are some consequences of heroin use?
- One of the most significant effects of heroin use is addiction. Once tolerance happens, higher does become necessary
to achieve the desired effect, and physical dependence develops.
- Chronic use may cause collapsed veins, infection of heart lining and valves, abscesses, liver disease, pulmonary
complications, and various types of pneumonia.
- May cause depression of central nervous system, cloudy mental functioning, and slowed breathing to the point of respiratory failure.
- Heroin overdose may cause slow and shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and possibly death.
- Users put themselves at risk for contracting HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other viruses.