What is Heroin?

Heroin is an illegal opioid typically appearing as a white or brown powder or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. It’s often “cut” with other drugs or substances, such as sugar or powdered milk.

Heroin users may inject, snort, or smoke the substance. Specific methods come with added risks, such as sharing needles that transmit disease. Using heroin can lead to overdose and long-term use guarantees addiction.

In this blog, we’ll answer the following questions:

• What is the clinical name for heroin?
• What are other names for heroin?
• What is the origin of heroin?
• Is heroin the strongest opiate?
• How can you prevent a heroin overdose?

What is the Clinical Name for Heroin?

Heroin is medically known as diacetylmorphine. The name is derived from the German word “heroisch,” meaning heroic in English.

What are Other Names for Heroin?

Aside from its medical name, diacetylmorphine, heroin has other aliases or “street names” used in illegal distribution, including: 

• Smack
• Horse
• Junk
• H
• Dope
• Brown sugar
• Skag
• Thunder
• Boy
• Hell dust
• White lady
• China white
• Chiva
• Big H
• Black tar
• Dragon
• Harry
• Scag
• Mexican black tar
• Number 4

There are names used to describe combinations of heroin and other substances as well like dynamite (mixed with cocaine) and screwball (mixed with meth), among others.

What is the Origin of Heroin?

Heroin was initially synthesized in the late 19th century. The illegal substance was created by C.R. Alder Wright in 1974 from morphine, a natural product of opium poppy plants. As mentioned, morphine’s medical name, “diacetylmorphine,” comes from the German word “heroisch,” which means heroic in English.

When heroin was first created, it was marketed as a non-addictive substitute for morphine in pain relief. Likewise, it was said to be a much safer alternative. We now know that heroin is incredibly addictive and can lead to serious health problems. 

Despite being marketed for medical use, heroin slowly became recreational, leading to an addiction outbreak. Today, the United States classifies heroin as a Schedule I controlled substance due to its high potential for abuse and illegal use.

Is Heroin the Strongest Opiate?

Heroin is indeed one of the strongest, most dangerous opioid drugs. It’s such a high risk for abuse and harm that the U.S. has banned any form of medical or recreational use. Still, other opioids rank higher on the scale of potency. Despite being used as a prescription opioid, fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. On the other hand, heroin is typically three times as strong as morphine, its derivative.

How Can You Prevent a Heroin Overdose?

Unlike other pain relievers like fentanyl and morphine, heroin is illegal regardless of the amount and how its administered.

Monitoring how much heroin your body can take without risking overdose is difficult because it’s only attainable through illegal means that aren’t reliable. What someone may believe is 20 mg of heroin could turn out to be closer to 200 mg, believed to be the lethal dosage. Because of this, people who use heroin are at an incredibly high risk of overdose and death.

You can prevent an overdose in yourself and others by taking the following precautions.

Avoid Illegal Substance Use

Buying drugs illegally puts you at risk of harm to your physical and mental health. You’re not only taking part in criminal activity that can harm your future, but you also don’t necessarily know what substances you’re actually taking. Heroin in any dose is dangerous, but its new illegal substances have recently emerged, often labeled as “heroin.”

Rainbow fentanyl is an illicitly manufactured substance often mixed with other drugs like heroin and cocaine. Rainbow fentanyl, even in small amounts, can be 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The DEA noted in 2022 that “approximately forty percent of the pills [rainbow fentanyl] we analyze in our lab contain a lethal dose.”

Education and Awareness

Growing up in the U.S., you probably remember participating in D.A.R.E, a drug prevention program to deter children and teens from recreational drug use, although you may not remember much of the content today.

We need consistent reminders of the harmful effects of drugs and why they aren’t worth it, even in the most challenging times. If you or a loved one is struggling with opioid abuse, seek resources and treatment, and learn the signs of an overdose.

Seek Professional Help

Heroin is highly addictive and dangerous. Even a one-time use can increase the risk of overdose and addiction. Professional help, including addiction counselors, therapists, and doctors, can provide you with the necessary tools and support with withdrawal symptoms to overcome substance use before it’s too late.

It’s easy to tell ourselves we can handle addiction on our own, but this is a lie our substance-dependent brain tells us. When a person is deep in addiction, their decision-making and judgment are impaired. Without professional help, you’ll look at the problem through a clouded mindset.

Join Support Networks

Along with professional help, you need to surround yourself with people who understand your problems. You can find independent support groups or join one at a treatment program. Hearing your peers’ testimonies and personal struggles allows you to empathize with one another and keep each other accountable in recovery.

Naxolone (Narcan) Training

Narcan is an opioid antagonist that can be administered as a nasal spray in someone having an overdose. In the past two decades, nearly 27,000 overdose-related deaths have been prevented through the use of Narcan kits. In Narcan training, you’ll learn how to administer it and the steps to take following this. During an overdose, make sure you contact emergency medical services.

Narcan considers the time it takes between a phone call to medical services and how long it takes them to arrive on the scene (an average of three minutes and 42 seconds). Narcan can be administered between this time to block the effects of the opioid overdose, potentially saving a life.

Get Support for Opioid Addiction at Soul Surgery’s Integrative Treatment Centers

When someone develops an addiction, the brain craves the reward of the substance, making it difficult to see how unhappy and broken we’ve become. Don’t give in to your addiction by accepting life as you know it. It may seem impossible to fathom right now, but recovery is possible, and you can find joy and contentment in a life free from drug use.

Contact us today, and we’ll connect you with a compassionate professional on our team, ready to help you start your journey to recovery. This is only the beginning, and we want to be with you each step of the way.