9781422270509

HEROIN

WHAT IS HEROIN? Opioid Drugs and Heroin

Opioids are drugs that interact with the nervous system through opioid receptors. They have medical uses, particularly to relieve pain. Heroin is just one of the many opioid drugs that are part of the nation’s opioid epidemic , according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Like morphine and opium, heroin is extracted from the sap and resin of opium poppy plants. Today, there are many opioid drugs, including synthetic ones that are made exclusively in laboratories. Like heroin, morphine and opium are natural opioids. How Is Heroin Made? Heroin is an illegal drug that comes primarily from Southeast Asia, and it is also sometimes made in South America. Illegal drug makers use opium poppy seed capsules to start the process. The seed capsules are cut, and a milky white substance called “latex” leaks out. It is collected, and when it has dried, it is opium, the basis for all natural and semisynthetic opiate drugs.

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