Heroin

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• No links available

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Teenagers
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Heroin is a white or brown powder or a black, sticky goo. It's an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance in the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. It can be mixed with water and injected with a needle. Heroin can also be smoked or snorted up the nose. All of these ways of taking heroin send it to the brain very quickly. This makes it very addictive.

Major health problems from heroin include miscarriages, heart infections, and death from overdose. People who inject the drug also risk getting infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

Regular use of heroin can lead to tolerance. This means users need more and more drug to have the same effect. At higher doses over time, the body becomes dependent on heroin. If dependent users stop heroin, they have withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, diarrhea and vomiting, and cold flashes with goose bumps.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Start Here

• Heroin (Drug Enforcement Administration)
• Heroin DrugFacts (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Drug Testing (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Drug Use Screening Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Also in Spanish
• What Can Be Done for a Heroin Overdose? (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Also in Spanish
• What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - PDF

Images

• Heroin Photos (Drug Enforcement Administration)

Statistics and Research

• Abuse of Prescription Pain Medications Risks Heroin Use (National Institute on Drug Abuse) - PDF
• Heroin (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Heroin Dependence (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Methadone (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Association between rs1799971 in the mu opioid receptor gene and methadone...
• Article: Heroin pipe distribution to reduce high-risk drug consumption behaviors among people...
• Article: Differences in orexin-A level in the functional brain network of HUD...
• Heroin -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• National Institute on Drug Abuse Also in Spanish
• Opioid Treatment Program Directory (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
• Partnership to End Addiction

Teenagers

• Heroin (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Tips for Teens: The Truth about Heroin (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - PDF

Women

• How Does Heroin Use Affect Pregnant Women (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Heroin overdose (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Opiate and opioid withdrawal (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Tips for Teens: The Truth about Heroin (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - PDF