Heroin

1647 Words4 Pages

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 opium contains. Morphine from opium can be advanced to produce diamorphine, which is the prescribed name for heroin (United Kingdom).

A British chemist discovered heroin in 1874. The trade name "heroin" originated from the new drug diacetylmorphine in 1898 when the Bayer Company in Germany began mass-producing the drug as a universal painkiller. Diacetylmorphine is the mixture of opium's main ingredient, morphine, with a common acid, acetic anhydride. During this time, pharmaceutical manufacturers sold heroin in apparent medicines as a cure for various diseases. An example of one would be infantile

respiratory ailments. In 1925, the League of Nations passed a law against the worldwide export of Heroin. In 1931, the policy stated that manufacturers could produce only enough heroin for legalized medical and scientific requirements (Schaffer Library of…).

Heroin is available in all major city areas in the United States. Heroin is recognized by other street names such as: "dope", "sm...

... middle of paper ...

... to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make

amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do

so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly

admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact

with God, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to

carry this message to alcoholics, and to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Steps: 1-7: Self-Maintenance

Steps: 8-12: Righting your relations with others and god

More about Heroin

Open Document