Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jun 2006
Source: Times, The  (Munster IN)
Copyright: 2006 The Munster Times
Contact:  http://www.nwitimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/832
Author: Jerry Davich
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

HEROIN ALTERS BRAIN'S STRUCTURE

Chemical Effects Make Opiate So Addictive, Destructive

Within seconds -- as short as 10 seconds -- heroin can produce the 
most imaginable feeling of pleasure and euphoria, especially for 
first-time users.

The poppy plant opiate, a morphine derivative, activates several 
regions in the brain, specifically those linked to the sensations of 
pleasure and physical dependence, according to the National 
Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. It's the most 
rapid-acting opiate, almost immediately crossing the blood-brain 
barrier. There, it is converted to morphine and binds rapidly to 
opioid receptors.

This intense rush often comes in warm waves across the skin, 
heavy-feeling hands and feet, and a clouded yet comforting mindset 
about the world, users say.

Yet heroin is also the most addictive opiate, a double-edged sword 
cutting to the chemical truth behind heroin's power over users: An 
infamous, single-minded and relentless return to a newfound normalcy, 
said Carmen Arlt, director of chemical dependency and addiction for 
Porter-Starke Services Inc.

This triggers a compulsive and vicious behavioral syndrome to achieve 
the same effect again and again -- despite adverse social, 
psychological or physical consequences, experts agree.

One in four people who try heroin become addicted to it, according to 
National Institute of Health data.

Simple daily joys like enjoying food or liquor, being with family or 
friends, and even having sex fail to deliver the newfound level of 
pleasure that heroin offers, users say. Only heroin can return users 
to this new normalcy they feel.

Once the addiction gets a choke-hold on users, their new purpose in 
life becomes seeking and using heroin or other opiate-related drugs 
- -- which literally change the structure of their brains.

This is why experts say opiate addiction is a brain disease.

Heroin, with street names such as dope, smack, junk, TNT, H and 
Mexican brown, often is administered with a needle by shooting up 
directly into veins or muscles. It can come as a white powder or a 
brown, tar-like substance and can be smoked, snorted, taken orally, 
anally or as a speedball, a mixture of heroin and a stimulant -- such 
as crack cocaine or crystal methamphetamine.

Users say intravenous injection offers the best bang for the buck, 
and the fastest, usually within seconds. Intramuscular injection 
kicks in after five to seven minutes, and other forms are felt in 10 
to 15 minutes, according to the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol 
and Drug Information.

Laboratory rats will happily take dose after dose of heroin until 
they die, Arlt said.

"And we're no better than those rats when it comes to heroin 
addiction," she said.

Withdrawal, on the other hand, can creep up within a few hours, when 
the chemical reaction dissipates, when Dr. Jekyll transmogrifies into Mr. Hyde.

It's the haunting yet inevitable flip-side to heroin's initial 
promise of euphoric pleasure, typically and repeatedly peaking 
between 24 and 48 hours later.

Users say it's like having the flu 1,000 times over, where pain, 
insomnia and vomiting join forces to clamor for just one more hit, 
one more return to normalcy, one more feeling of euphoria, no matter 
the consequences.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman