As we witness the drug epidemic that our country is enduring, it’s important to understand the specific substances that are causing so much mayhem in so many parts of our population. Of all illicit drugs, one of the most harmful to individuals is heroin, which is one of the most deadly and addictive street drugs. In the past decade, heroin abuse has over quadrupled, and kills around 9,000 people every year. Here is some more information about how this nefarious substance works and operates…
Physical effects of heroin abuse
Heroin has an immense effect on your nervous system. First of all, heroin has an extremely calming effect on your nerves, to the point of lethargy. This lowers your reflexes and inhibits your senses. In addition to this, heroin can cause respiratory problems, as many users report trouble breathing. Because of the respiratory issues, heart problems can also occur, such as an irregular heartbeat. If a user ingests too much heroin beyond their tolerance level, they can also experience an overdose, which causes their heart to stop, among other things, due to the fact that heroin impacts several vital organs.
Mental effects of heroin abuse
Heroin is an immensely pleasurable drug. Because of this fact, heroin causes euphoria in users. However, the withdrawals from heroin have extremely harsh side effects, and can lead to psychosis, insomnia, intense irritability, and have major physical effects as well. Heroin is synthesized to be much stronger than your average opioid, which means that the pleasure effect is even greater, despite the dangerous and even lethal side effects.
How heroin is so addictive
Heroin does indeed make a user feel intense pleasure. This is because it forces your brain to overload its receptors with dopamine production, which eliminates pain and creates pleasure. However, this hampers the brain’s ability to produce dopamine on its own. The effect this has on users is what makes heroin so addictive, as addicts literally are unable to feel any sort of happiness or positive feeling without the help of heroin.