A narcotic drug similar to morphine. When used for medical purposes, it is generally known as diamorphine. Heroin is a white or brownish powder that can be smoked, sniffed, or dissolved in water and injected.
As well as having an analgesic effect, heroin produces sensations of warmth, calmness, drowsiness, and a loss of concern for outside events. Long-term use of the drug causes tolerance and psychological and physical dependence (see drug dependence; heroin abuse). Sudden withdrawal produces shivering, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, and restlessness.
Also known as diacetyl morphine or diamorphine, this Class A controlled drug is an opiate
– a group which includes morphine, codeine, pethidine and methadone. It is a powerful analgesic and cough suppressant, but its capacity to produce euphoria rapidly induces DEPENDENCE. Popular with addicts, its mostly pleasant effects soon produce TOLERANCE; the need to inject the drug, with associated risks of HIV infection, has affected its use by addicts. Withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, insomnia, muscle cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea; signs include dilated pupils, raised pulse rate, and disturbed temperature control. Although rarely life-threatening, the effects of withdrawal may cause great distress, and for this reason methadone, which has a slower and less severe withdrawal syndrome, is commonly used when weaning addicts o? heroin. Legally still available to doctors in the UK, heroin is normally only used in patients with severe pain, or to comfort the dying.
n. a white crystalline powder derived from *morphine that is a highly addictive drug of abuse. See also diamorphine.
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