| There can be no question about the
dangers of heroin use. What may start out innocently enough as a desire to
experience a new kind of high may progress with extreme rapidity to an almost
continuous type of nightmare existence. The heroin user may begin by snorting or inhaling the drug, progress to "skin popping" (injecting it beneath the skin), and end up "mainlining" it (injecting it directly into the bloodstream). If a hypodermic syringe is not available, the user may sever an artery and pour the heroin in with a spoon. Once users are "hooked", their entire lives become centered upon this white powder. They will do anything--lie, steal, cheat, even kill--to get that next fix. After a while, riley do not even experience a high; they simply need the drug to avoid the terrors of withdrawal. The habit demands more and more, and still more, of the drug. Even a highly paid corporation executive would find it difficult to support such a habit. Usually, the only way the addict can get enough money is through crime or prostitution. Thus, crime associated with heroin addiction is not a direct effect of the drug, but stems from the need to support the habit. In fact, heroin is an extremely effective depressant, which markedly reduces such motivational states as hunger and sex. How is it that this innocent-looking white powder can come to dominate the life of the abuser so completely? Within the first minute of heroin injection, there is a sudden, climactic rush of feeling. This extremely pleasurable experience is followed by a "high" which is characterized by lethargy, emotional detachment, a sense of well-being, and deep feelings of contentment. To illustrate, a heroin abuser may spend hours before a TV set, watching the dancing images on the screen without becoming emotionally involved in the program content. But then comes the crushing aftermath. As the high begins to subside, so also does the sense of well-being. The euphoria of a moment ago is replaced by gnawing feelings of apprehension and anxiety. The bizarre cycle culminates in an overwhelming sense of panic as the addict begins a frantic search for tile next fix. The victims of heroin addiction are legion--the addicts themselves, their families, and those they have robbed or otherwise brutalized in their quest for the "big H". In recent years another innocent victim of heroin addiction has come to light, the newborn infant of an addicted mother. Studies of infants born to heroin-addicted mothers have found that more than two-thirds start out life as addicts. Within 96 hours of birth, most will show signs of withdrawal, including extreme irritability, tremors, and vomiting. The incidence of withdrawal symptoms in the newborn depends on how long the mother has been addicted, on the amount of heroin she has taken, and on how close to delivery she was when she took her last dose. Traces of drugs taken as little as ten minutes prior to delivery have been found in newborns. |