Are you overcome with sadness? Do you feel the need to fit in? Are you experiencing tough times and do not know how to cope? Are you looking to fill a void? Are you bored in your suburban town? Do you just like to get high? Are you avoiding the pain of withdrawal? These are all thoughts that run through an addict’s mind. Drug addiction has severe consequences affecting every aspect of and individual’s life. Heroin, in particular, has turn into an epidemic concerning many young Americans.
History
There is no exact date when and where the opium poppy was first cultivated. The history of opium goes way back to 3400 B.C., the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. Opium was initially used by Egyptians and Persians, ultimately spreading …show more content…
Opium was promoted as a cure for alcoholism by the late 1800’s. Morphine derived from opium and was developed as a pain killer in 1810. It was able to eliminate severe pain associated with operations or injuries. It would leave the user numb. By 1874 heroin was imported into the United States. It was sold legally until 1920 when congressed enacted the Dangerous Drug Act. When they had realized how dangerous it was. In 1925 there was an estimated 200,000 heroin addicts in the country. (History of Heroin, 2016) In 1862, a scientist named Augustus Matthiessen was appointed as lecturer in Chemistry at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, where his research was focused on opium alkaloids (Sneader, W., 1998). Later, a researcher named Chris Adler Wright joined him. Together, they discovered the amorphine that is produced after morphine is heated with hydrochloric acid in a sealed tube (Sneader, W., 1998). Even though Matthiessen died, Wright continued their research and synthesized several morphine esters in 1874, including acetylcodiene, acetylmorphine, and diacetylmorphine (Sneader, W., 1998). This was the first time heroine, or diacetylmorphine, had ever been synthesized or made. There was no more research done …show more content…
Heroin depresses breathing. (Heroin and Opiate Addiction, 1994-2016)
The long-term effects of heroin include; bad teeth, inflammation of the gums, constipation, cold sweats, itching, weakening of the immune system, coma, respiratory (breathing) illnesses, muscular weakness, partial paralysis, reduced sexual capacity and long-term impotence in men, menstrual disturbance in women, inability to achieve orgasm (women and men), loss of memory and intellectual performance, introversion depression, pustules on the face, loss of appetite and insomnia. (The truth about heroin, 2006-2016).
What is Heroin?
Heroin has an extremely addictive quality. It mimics the brains natural processes for obtaining pleasure. Opioids access and alter the very components that are involved in producing pleasure and removing
History
There is no exact date when and where the opium poppy was first cultivated. The history of opium goes way back to 3400 B.C., the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. Opium was initially used by Egyptians and Persians, ultimately spreading …show more content…
Opium was promoted as a cure for alcoholism by the late 1800’s. Morphine derived from opium and was developed as a pain killer in 1810. It was able to eliminate severe pain associated with operations or injuries. It would leave the user numb. By 1874 heroin was imported into the United States. It was sold legally until 1920 when congressed enacted the Dangerous Drug Act. When they had realized how dangerous it was. In 1925 there was an estimated 200,000 heroin addicts in the country. (History of Heroin, 2016) In 1862, a scientist named Augustus Matthiessen was appointed as lecturer in Chemistry at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, where his research was focused on opium alkaloids (Sneader, W., 1998). Later, a researcher named Chris Adler Wright joined him. Together, they discovered the amorphine that is produced after morphine is heated with hydrochloric acid in a sealed tube (Sneader, W., 1998). Even though Matthiessen died, Wright continued their research and synthesized several morphine esters in 1874, including acetylcodiene, acetylmorphine, and diacetylmorphine (Sneader, W., 1998). This was the first time heroine, or diacetylmorphine, had ever been synthesized or made. There was no more research done …show more content…
Heroin depresses breathing. (Heroin and Opiate Addiction, 1994-2016)
The long-term effects of heroin include; bad teeth, inflammation of the gums, constipation, cold sweats, itching, weakening of the immune system, coma, respiratory (breathing) illnesses, muscular weakness, partial paralysis, reduced sexual capacity and long-term impotence in men, menstrual disturbance in women, inability to achieve orgasm (women and men), loss of memory and intellectual performance, introversion depression, pustules on the face, loss of appetite and insomnia. (The truth about heroin, 2006-2016).
What is Heroin?
Heroin has an extremely addictive quality. It mimics the brains natural processes for obtaining pleasure. Opioids access and alter the very components that are involved in producing pleasure and removing