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Essay on Heroin

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Heroin

Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual. Heroin is a painkilling drug that is made from the Papaverum Somniferum, also known as the opium poppy plant. All opiates are addictive painkillers. Heroin starts as a milky sap of the opium poppy. The sap is then dried and becomes a gum. After washing the gum, it becomes opium. Morphine and codeine are two painkilling alkaloids that …show more content…

The colors of heroin vary from dark brown to white because of the impurities from the developing process. The Eastern and Western parts of the United States are divided into a few different types of heroin (United States).
There are two main types of heroin. One type is called "White Powder Heroin". It is extremely pure, meaning it is a genuine brand that is quickly effective with a very bitter taste. "White Powder Heroin" is distributed mainly in the Eastern part of the United States. This highly purified heroin is produced in and sent from South Africa (United States).
Another form of heroin in the western United States is called, "Black Tar Heroin". This type may be sticky or hard. "Black Tar Heroin" is only produced in Mexico and is distributed throughout the Western part of the United States. The color of "Black Tar Heroin" varies from dark brown to black. The color represents the poor processing methods used to illegally manufacture heroin in Mexico. "Black Tar Heroin" is sold in a tar like form with its purity ranging from 20% to 80%. "Black Tar Heroin" is often dissolved, diluted, or injected (United States).
The heroin supply spreads globally with many ways of transportation. Illegal heroin is sent as a powder. People delivering heroin often hide their drugs in public transportation vehicles or privately owned motor vehicles. Heroin may be hidden in and on peoples' bodies. Heroin is smuggled in amounts of one to

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