BODY & MIND
Club Drugs: Effects, Risks, and Addiction
Club Drug Quick Links
Crystal Methamphetamine
Ecstasy
GHB
Ketamine
Poppers
Cocaine
Heroin
Crystal Methamphetamine
Ecstasy
GHB
Ketamine
Poppers
Cocaine
Heroin
| FEATURED CLUB DRUG: HEROIN | |
| Street Name: H, Smack, dope, horse, gear, diesel, skag, brown sugar, dragon, bitch | |
| What It Is: A narcotic, heroin belongs to the class of drugs known as opioids, along with opium, codeine, and morphine. It is refined from the opium poppy using common chemicals; the tiny white flakes of pure heroin are cut with filler, ranging from the harmless (glucose, lactose, sucrose, talc) to Ajax, barbiturates, speed, and the potentially lethal strychnine. | |
| What It Does: Once a dose of heroin hits the brain, it is converted into morphine, which binds to the opioid-receptor pleasure center, releasing a flood of endorphins and a sense of euphoria that is typically described a “an orgasm in the gut.” The endorphins also block pain. | |
| Dose: Snorted, smoked (chased or mixed with pot), or injected, which is widely preferred because it induces an immediate rush of sensation. | |
| Duration: Peak effects hit from 10 to 90 minutes after the drug is taken and last from three to five hours. | |
| Effects: Feelings of intense (“orgasmic”) euphoria, contentment, a dreamlike state that decreases sexual desire and diminishes motor coordination. | |
| Risks: Side effects commonly include nausea and vomiting, appetite loss, constipation, itchiness, sweating, impotence, and lack of orgasm, breathing problems, blacking out. As with any mind-altering substance, chronic use can lead you into a downward spiral of loss of health and support of all kinds. Overdose is always a risk, so most experienced users test the drug’s potency by doing a small amount first. Most overdoses are the result of combining heroin with other depressants, especially alcohol. Frequent injecting can cause infection, abscess, vein damage, and blood clots; sharing needles increases the risk of HIV and other STDs. | |
| Addiction: Heroin is highly addictive, and frequent use causes the brain to slow or stop its own production of endorphin-releasing opioids, which is the cause of the user’s growing dependence on the drug. Without endorphins, your body has little capacity to master even minor sensations of pain. So kicking heroin is very challenging: In addition to the addiction to the high, the weeklong withdrawal syndrome is totally miserable—“like dying.” Getting and staying clean involves detox in rehab often followed by medical treatment involving methadone or newer, more experimental drugs in the opiod antagonist class, including buprenorphine and Naltrexone. A related drug, naloxone, is effective against heroin overdose. | |
