Heroin in Schools

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Smack, brown sugar, dope, horse, skag, H, junk, skunk, white horse, Mexican black tar, or China white. It is the schools unseen drug epidemic, and its killing more and more people. The drug is heroin. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “heroin use has risen 80 percent among teenagers and deaths from overdose in young people between 15 and 24 years has increased by 38 percent nationwide.” With the increase in heroin, it is essential that parents, grandparents and friends are aware and get involved if they become suspicious of drug abuse among someone.
Heroin is an opiate. Opiate drugs are naturally obtained from the flowers of the poppy plant or synthetically made. The opium poppy has been cultivated for more than five thousand years for a wide range of therapeutic uses. Poppy seeds are refined from four primary areas: Mexico, South America, Southeast and Southwest Asia. Even though Afghanistan is the world’s leading heroin producer, the most prevalent type available in the United States is coming from South America. The seed of the poppy plants produce morphine. Heroin was first synthesized from morphine in 1874. Morphine affects how the brain chemically functions; it changes the way people perceive what they are sensing. Heroin abuse and many prescription painkillers carry a high risk of addiction and physical dependence.
What does heroin look like? Heroin can be presented in multiple different forms. The purest form of Heroin is a white powder. It also ranges in a variety of colors due to the manufacturing impurities or additives. Heroin is usually sold as a white or brown powder or as black sticky stuff known as “black tar heroin” on the streets. Brown heroin is a base...

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...eath (due to an overdose), muscular weakness, loss of memory, depression, appetite loss, and insomnia are a few long term side effects that heroin has on the human body.

Works Cited

"DrugFacts: Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction." National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., Sept. 2009. Web. 26 May 2014.
"Heroin - Above the Influence." Above the Influence. Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
"Heroin Facts." And Effects. Drug Policy Alliance, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
"Heroin Topics." Types of Heroin. Heroin Addiction Treatment Resources, 2011. Web. 27 May 2014.
"Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms." Short/Long-Term Side Effects of Heroin. Drug Free World, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
"Teen Heroin." Teen Heroin. Ministry Health Care, n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.
"The Different Types of Heroin on the Street." Heroin Use Methods. Heroin.net, n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.

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