Heroin Abuse: Identifying the Worst Effects Among Heroin Abusers

Heroin is a highly addictive drug semi-synthetic opioid drug. This central nervous system depressant is one of the highly abused illegal drugs in United States. According to a survey by NSDUH (National Survey on Drug Use and Health) in 2008, there was an increase in Heroin abuse in teenagers from 153,000 in 2007 to 213,000 in 2008. Around 114,000 aged 12 or older used Heroin for the first time in 2008. These statistics clearly state that many people are getting addicted to this harmful drug which has numerous negative effects on the abusers.

Many harmful effects such as miscarriages, heart infections, death from overdose, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis etc., are associated with Heroin abuse. Following are the worst effects among Heroin abusers:

Ugly features in appearance
Heroin abusers will have very ugly physical appearance. They appear skinny, unkempt and less hygienic. The person’s veins will be collapsed, will have keloids, pus discharge from the scars all over the body due to regular injection of the drug.

Droopy stance
Heroin addicts appear drowsy or very much relaxed. They have trouble sitting, standing or changing positions. They appear lost in their own world. They have to drag themselves to walk, as they feel some heaviness in their legs and arms.

Constricted pupils
When the human eye is exposed to bright light, there is constriction of pupil to prevent aberrations due to light rays. Due to aging, the pupil naturally becomes smaller and does not open wide in dim light, but Heroin abusers will have constricted pupils which do not respond to changes in light. Pin point pupils are observed in Heroin addicts during overdose.

Poor hygiene
Heroin addicts do not take proper care of themselves. They do not take shower regularly or change their garments. The person will no longer fix hair or perform other grooming tasks. Heroin smokers have very poor dental hygiene. They suffer with many diseases which result due to poor hygiene.

Runny nose
Heroin abusers who snort Heroin are much prone to respiratory problems. They have runny nose with heavy mucous discharge. Their nose appears to be red. They have flu like symptoms.

Watery eyes
A Heroin addict will have watery eyes. They also have dark circles around their eyes. More amount of snorting Heroin may lead to ocular candidiasis.

Slurred speech
One can easily identify a Heroin abuser by his slurred speech. As the Heroin abusers will always be in trance like state, they have problems while speaking. It may be due to the depression of nervous system by Heroin.

Pale clammy skin
The Heroin abusers will have cool, moist and pale skin. It is because of lack of proper nutrition and hygiene. It also may be due to fall in blood pressure and heart rate which will result in improper blood supply. Chronic Heroin abusers have bluish skin and nails.

Not active in attitude
Heroin abusers are always drowsy or in a trance like state. They have lethargy and apathetic attitude towards their education, family or work. They have attention and concentration deficits. They even neglect their important tasks which results in declined performance at school, college or work.

Above mentioned are only just a few of the worst effects of Heroin abuse. It has many other harmful effects on vital organs like kidneys, liver, lungs and skin. The Heroin abusers are much prone to viral infections because of unsafe use of needles. Therefore, it is better to avoid Heroin than suffering with the dangerous effects of abuse.

Anti Drug, Heroin Abuse, Marijuana and Reefer Madness Film Library 2 DVD Set

This classic 2 DVD set contains a variety of anti-drug films that were made
to show America’s youth the dangers of using drugs. The films portray how a
person slowly destroys his life by starting with recreational drugs and then
moving on to harder drugs like heroin. You will also see the personal
destruction and social consequences of people who do drugs.

In some ways the films are
quite explicit in their showing of drug preparation and use. In other ways,
they are quite simplistic in their teachings – reflecting the simpler times
and more clear cut moral values of the time.

Here are all the films that make up this historical collection:

Contents of DVD 1:
Subject: Narcotics (1951) – Sound, Color
Run time: 21:01;
Drug Abuse: The Chemical Tomb (1969) – Sound, Color
Run time: 18:28;
Drug Addiction (1951) – Sound, Black & White
Run time: 21:02;
The Terrible Truth (1951) – Sound, Color
Run time: 10:03;
Narcotics: Pit of Despair (1967) – Sound, Color
Run time: 28:35;
Social Seminar: Changing (1971) – Sound, Color
Run time: 27:49;
Social Seminar: Bunny (1971) – Sound, Color
Run time: 16:00;

Contents of DVD 2:
Reefer Madness (1938) – sound, Black & White
Run time: 1:08:17

List Price: $ 19.97

Price: $ 17.95

Beauty Queen

• ISBN13: 9780062051615
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

I felt the prick of the needle, but only for a second, because this great rush of warmth quickly followed, encompassing my whole body from my toes right up to the top hair on my head. I couldn’t move for a minute as she guided the needle in and out of my vein. When she was done, I felt like I had entered heaven. I looked in the mirror and felt beautiful and confident. I felt this great peace, at last, a warmth, and I knew that everything was going to be okay–and really always had been. Like time had stopped and I was floating on a cloud.

“Writing the book, I saw my old dope dealer and bought ,500 worth of pure heroin–Brown Gold–and started shooting up ten times a day to get the feel of the book. Well, I did, all right. I ended up in Glen Cove General, almost dead. In truth, you make a deal with the Devil. He takes away your pain, but he owns you. You live for the next fix. After a while, it’s totally physical; your body has to have it. But I’m off it for good.”
— Linda Glovach

Young Adults’ Choices for 2000 (IRA)

When we first meet 19-year-old Samantha, she sounds like a normal teenager, writing in her diary about an ex-boyfriend: “I will never fall in love again, never, ever! Why is life so cruel? Why do people like to hurt each other?” But a mere three months later–after moving into her own apartment, taking a job as a topless dancer, and becoming addicted to heroin–her tone takes on that of a grizzled drug abuser: “I’ve been shooting in my bony hip area… toward my groin, so no one can detect the needle points on my rear when I wear my G-string, and I’m getting terribly numb there.” Samantha’s story is told entirely in the form of her journal entries, which vividly reflect this young woman’s rapid descent into the seedy world of addiction.

Author Linda Glovach creates a likable, believable character in Samantha: we recognize her humanity as a girl genuinely troubled by her mother’s alcoholism (as well as by her mom’s lascivious boyfriend); we feel the unconditional love she harbors for her diabetic Maine coon cat; we shake our heads as her greed for money and flippant attitude about her addiction cause Sam to make naive decisions. As Sam spirals further downward–still unaware of how far gone she really is, even though she can’t complete a journal entry without shooting up–readers will feel the remorse of what could have been, and may learn a valuable lesson in the process. (Ages 13 and older) –Brangien Davis

List Price: $ 17.99

Price: $ 6.98

How to Stop Time

Don’t expect to probe the mind of a woman whose life was ruined by heroin, because Ann Marlowe won’t take you down that road. Instead, her provocatively structured memoir, How to Stop Time: Heroin from A To Z, follows the life of an upper-class addict who makes no apologies for the pictures she fails to paint.

Marlowe is the antithesis of the junkie stereotype. Throughout her seven-year addiction, she never shot up, never lived on the street, and never resorted to selling drugs or her body to sustain her habit. In short, she never bottomed out. As a result, readers with the preconception that all druggies end up on the dark side may put this book down and ask, “What’s interesting about her addiction?” Ironically, it is precisely this absence of severity that makes Marlowe’s memoir intriguing. The fact that her own game with heroin ends in a draw gives her an unusual perspective on the friends, lovers, and dealers whose luck ran out and who lost everything.

The memoir’s alphabetically arranged entries read more like loosely connected essays than actual chapters, at times giving the book a slightly disjointed feel. She doles out the details of her addiction in bits and pieces, interjecting snippets of her youth, an acute look at the drug “problem” in the United States, and the gradual progression of her habit along the way. She describes her addiction as a method of slowing down time in an effort to impose order on her chaotic life, and a way of becoming vulnerable and daring all in one moment. Declaring it an act of free will, Marlowe speaks of a life with heroin as few have envisioned: one of restraint, consciousness, self-discipline, and very little guilt. –Melissa Asher

List Price: $ 24.00

Price: $ 24.00

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