Dear Reader,

Addiction is a real danger when it comes to using heroin. Depending on how much you use and for how long, mild to severe addiction is almost inevitable. This is because a heroin addiction has both a physiological (primarily involving the central nervous system) and a psychological component. If you use somewhat weak heroin for a few weeks, you could develop a mild dependence; use something a little purer (which is quite common these days), for a little while longer, and you may find you've got a pretty tough habit to kick.

Heroin is a narcotic derivative of morphine, a common painkilling sedative. Heroin is potent and fast-acting, producing a pleasant sick feeling (nausea) and indifference to pain. Pleasure seeking and pain reduction can become an all-consuming way of life, and the reason to live, for many heroin users. Such an addiction is not cheap to overcome, and is extremely difficult to break.

Many new heroin users get high by smoking and sniffing the drug's cooked byproducts, but some may soon find that real satisfaction can only come from intravenous injection (usually in the arms and legs). If that stops doing the trick, addicts sometimes resort to injecting heroin into their necks, groins, and penises because the vessels in their arms and legs are no longer useful conduits.

Movies like Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting don't lie about the dark, ugly side of heroin. Overdosing is a possibility -- the heroin you can buy today is generally more pure, and therefore deadlier, than ever before. OD'ing aside, you can count on experiencing some nausea and constipation when you do heroin -- the nausea will hit before the high does. To relieve constipation, heroin users often become dependent on laxatives as well. If you inject, HIV/AIDS and infectious hepatitis are obviously big concerns, especially if you share or use unsterilized needles.

To be fair, there are heroin users who remain productive, maintaining their grades, work responsibilities, and social and family affairs. "Managing" heroin use, however, can become impossible as a constant craving for this very powerful drug becomes stronger and more difficult to resist.

Only you can decide if you want to take the risk with heroin. Alice is one for informed decisions -- if you still have questions, you can call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information hotline at 1.800.729.6686 or 301.468.2600. Perhaps you'll share what you learn with your friend, too. Compared to pot, heroin is a beast of a completely different nature.

Alice

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