What Heroin Will Do to You
Heroin: A derivative of opium, heroin is one of the most addictive illegal drugs, and has many adverse short- and long-term effects.
Withdrawals from heroin can be extremely painful and uncomfortable, which is one of the reasons many users find it difficult to stop once they start using. Withdrawals from heroin start within 8 hours of ceasing use, the symptoms peak about 38 to 72 hours into the process and can last up to a week.
Short-term effects:
- Rush,
- Slowed breathing,
- Clouded mental functioning,
- Nausea,
- Vomiting,
- Sedation,
- Drowsiness,
- Hypothermia (body temperature lower than normal)
- Coma,
- Death (due to overdose.)
Long-term effects:
- Bad teeth,
- Constipation,
- Cold sweats,
- Itching,
- Coma,
- Memory loss,
- Depression,
- Loss of appetite.
“I lost my younger sister to a heroin overdose. She had a wonderful, artistic talent, recognized at an early age.
“At the age of 14, she was smoking pot. When she was 15, she started hanging around with a boy who was a ’good friend.’ He recommended a ’better, mellower high than pot.’ That was when she met heroin.
“She was expelled from an arts school only a couple months after she started. At age 22, she called me and said she was in a halfway house.
“She stayed clean for a little more than a year and then she relapsed. We will never know why she relapsed—only from what we read in her journals. Her addiction was a fight for her life every day.
“One morning my phone rang and my father was on the line. He told me, ’they say she’s dead.’ I was screaming and sobbing uncontrollably. I will never forget that moment.”
—Megan
Here’s the thing about heroin, you are on death’s doorstep every time you do it.
If you know anyone struggling with drug addiction, do not delay and contact Narconon Arrowhead.
