MethAddiction.net - Crystal Meth Information Center

Any elementary or middle school student who has been through the state police sponsored DARE program knows that drugs can seriously mess an individual up. Even with education designed to scare students from ever using narcotics, some people will still become addicted to controlled substances.

Heroin addiction is one of the most insidious addictions imaginable. In many cases, the addict does not lose a chemical dependency on a drug but just winds up addicted to another substance that causes fewer problematic behaviors and is more carefully controlled.

While a heroin addict is relatively fine as long as he has the drug in his system, the effects can of the narcotic can produce states of wakefulness and alertness in alternating periods after the initial euphoria has worn off.

Like many other drugs, the body becomes more tolerant to heroin over time and the heroin user needs more and more of the drug to achieve the euphoria he seeks. Heroin addiction has long-term health effects and use of the drug makes it more likely that an addict will contract a STD.

As with alcohol, a person suffering from heroin withdrawal must go to a hospital to undergo a detox process once he or she decides to become clean. Symptoms of heroin withdrawal include sudden muscle spasms, vomiting, and diarrhea. A severe craving for the drug is also part of the process, as it is for any other physically addictive substance.

The drawbacks of heroin, including the increased risk of STDs, do not seem to be decreasing its popularity any. Nor do the severe risks associated with being caught with the narcotic on your person decrease its popularity as a street drug. Needle programs in larger cities reduce some of the risks inherent in heroin use, but even if the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease is lessened, there are still severe effects from using the drug long enough to develop a heroin addiction.

Posted in: Heroin Abuse, Heroin Addiction