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Introduction:
Heroin is widely used, highly addictive and a powerful depressant that is processed from morphine. It is a semisynthetic form of opiate and derived from the opium poppy. Harvesters cut the pod and juice seeps out. The sap
has a high content of morphine. This morphine is substituted with two acetyl units thus creates heroin. So, its
chemical name is diacetylmorphine or diamorphine. Since it is derived from the opium poppy, it is the main
source of income for Afghanistan and many other countries that depend on drugs for income.
Heroin:
Diamorphine, diacetylmorphine, morphine diacetate (C21 H23 NO5) or heroin is an opioid painkiller. It is the 3,
6-diacetylester of morphine. Heroin was prescribed as an analgesic, cough suppressant and as an anti-diarrheal.
But nowadays it is used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effect.
History:
In the late 1800s morphine and codeine were the most popular prescribed and addictive drugs. The Bayer
Company in Germany was looking for alternate medications that were capable of treating the same diseases as
codeine and morphine (which is derived from the opium poppy) but yet less potent and less addictive. In 1874,
English chemist C.R. Wright ventured out into making a non-addictive form of morphine. In doing so he
combined anhydrous morphine alkoid and acetic anhydride. This produced what is known as diacetylmorphine.
In short diacetylmorphine is an acetylated version of morphine. The Bayer Company of Germany subsequently
marketed the drug as an analgesic in 1898.
In 1898, Heinrich Dreser of Germany saw the commercial value in Wrights invention and began testing on
rabbits, himself and fellow co-workers at the drug company he worked at in Germany, Bayer. Dreser later then
termed Wrights invention as Heroin. This was due to the results from testing his co-workers which said they
had a heroic like feeling while using the drug .Heroin was made to have heroic effects in relieving pain
without addiction that is why it was called heroin. Unfortunately, heroin leads to psychological dependence. By
1905, heroin addiction had risen to alarming rates.
The first comprehensive control of heroin occurred with the Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914.The Heroin Act was
passed in 1924, making illegal to manufacture and possess heroin. Currently in the U.S. heroin has no accepted
medical use and is placed in Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970.In Bangladesh,
according to The Narcotics Control Act, 1990; taking heroin, cocaine and cocaine derivatives is punishable;
from 2 to 10 years' imprisonment for up to 25 grammes and death sentence or lifelong imprisonment for more
than 25 grammes.
Manufacture Process:
Heroin is produced through opium refinement process. Firstly morphine is isolated from opium. Then this crude
is acetylated by heating with acetic anhydrate. Typically, morphine hydrochloride bricks are pulverized and the
dried powder is then placed in an enamel or stainless steel rice cook pot. Acetic anhydride is then added. The
acetic anhydride reacts with the morphine to form diacetylmorphine (heroin).This heroin base may be dried,
packed and transported to a heroin refining laboratory or it may be purified further and converted to heroin
hydrochloride, a water-soluble salt form of heroin. Usually two types of powder heroin are produced from crude
heroin base. One is Heroin No 3(NR3) or smoking heroin or heroin hydrochloride which contains 15-45% pure
diacetylmorphine and the other is Heroin No 4(NR4) or injectable heroin which contains 60-95% pure
diacetylmorphine.
Appearance:
Heroin is a white to dark brown powder or tar-like substance, with a bitter taste.
Street names:
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H ,Smack, Junk, China white ,Black tar, Brown sugar, Skag, Horse.
Methods of using:
Injection: The most common method of heroin use is intravenous injection. It is also known as slamming,
banging, shooting up, digging or mainlining. It requires user to dissolve the heroin powder in an acid such as
citric acid or lemon juice, sometimes in water. When heated it turns into a thick and fine liquid and injected
intravenously.This process requires smaller doses yet achieves faster effects then other process. Most injections
occur on major veins such as those in the arm. If veins collapse then injections typically will occur in groin,
neck and legs.
Smoking: The second most common way is smoking. Smoking heroin requires the user to heat the drug in
order to inhale the vapors. Typically heated on tin foil or lacing the drug with marijuana or tobacco and smoking
it in a pipe or cigarette. Smoking heroin is also termed as chasing the dragon, since the user chases the globs
of heroin that are in the tube with the intention of inhaling as much smoke as possible
Snorting: Snorting is one of the less common method. When snorted, users will use a glass tube or tin foil to
make a tube. Any residue left in the tin foil tube allows for further usage. By snorting users bypasses first pass
metabolism in the liver.
Oral intake: The less common route of administration is oral intake. When taken orally, heroin merely serves
as a pro-drug for morphine.
Medical use:
Diamorphine (heroin) is prescribed as a strong pain medication in the United Kingdom, where it is given via
intramuscular or intravenous route. Its use includes treatment for acute pain, such as in severe physical trauma,
myocardial infarction, post- surgical pain, and chronic pain, including end-stage cancer and other terminal
illnesses.
Overdosing:
Heroin overdose can occur because of an unexpected increase in the dose or purity or because of diminished
opioid tolerance .Besides overdoses are probably caused by interactions with other depressant drugs such as
alcohol or benzodiazepines. Depending on drug interactions and numerous other factors, death from overdose
can take anywhere from several minutes to several hours. Death usually occurs due to lack of oxygen resulting
from the lack of breathing caused by opioid. Since heroin can cause vomiting, deaths attributed to heroin
overdose are caused by aspiration of vomit by an unconscious person.
Excretion:
The excretion of heroin occurs a majority of the time through the kidneys and out as urine. Depending on the
amount administered or frequency complete excretion from the body varies from days to weeks or months.
Euphoria
Alternately alert and drowsy state
Warm flushing of the skin
Dry mouth
Insensitivity to pain
Vomiting
Lowered breathing or heart beat.
Withdrawal Symptom:
Major withdrawal symptoms peaks between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week,
in many cases for months.
Symptoms Include:
Runny nose ,muscle and bone pain
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Treatment:
In the events of a heroin overdose, medical professionals and in some cases law enforcement administer
naloxone (Narcan) or naltrexone. Narcan acts as an antagonist and reverses the traumatic effects of a heroin
overdose by competing with morphine for the opiate receptor and binding to them therefore reversing the
effects of heroin overdosing such as respiratory depression and sedation
There are several treatments for withdrawal, methadone is one of them. Methadone helps alleviate withdrawal
symptoms. When taken orally it occupies opiate receptors (like heroin). In a sense it acts like heroin by reducing
the need for more heroin therefore causing a reduction in withdrawal side effects .It should be noted that
methadone does not provide any of the euphoric effects like heroin.
Barbiturate:
Barbiturate is one kind of drug. It is basically used as sleeping pill or as nerve stimulus substance. Two German scientist
named Von Morving and Fisher made Barbital from Barbituric Acid. Barbital in the next made Barbiturate which act to
depress the central nervous system.
Barbiturate, any of an important group of drugs that depress brain function; they are derived from barbituric acid
(C4H4N2O3), a combination of urea and malonic acid. Depending on the dosage or formulation, barbiturates have a
sedative (tranquilizing), hypnotic (sleep-inducing), anticonvulsant, or anesthetic effect. Very short-acting barbiturates such
as thiopental are injected intravenously to induce rapid anesthesia before surgery. Phenobarbital, a long-acting barbiturate,
is prescribed with other medications to prevent epileptic seizures. Other barbituric-acid derivatives, such as secobarbital,
were used as antianxiety medications until the development of the tranquilizer; they are still in use for the short-term
treatment of insomnia, although tranquilizers are more suitable sleep inducers. Barbiturates are common drugs of abuse.
Taken orally or intravenously, they produce symptoms similar to drunkenness: loss of inhibition, boisterous or violent
behavior, muscle incoordination, depression, and sedation. They are physically addicting and produce severe withdrawal
symptoms; overdoses can cause profound shock, coma, or death.
The first barbiturates were made in the 1860s by the Bayer laboratories in Germany. In 1903, the first barbiturate
("barbital") was used in medical practices. In 1912, a common barbiturate, Phenobarbital, was introduced.
Types of barbiturates:
There are many different types of barbiturates. The names of some common ones (and brand names) include
a Pentobarbital (Nembutal),
b Secobarbital (Seconal),
c Amobarbital (Amytal) and
d Phenobarbital (Luminal);
According to Chemical characteristics Barbiturates can be classified in to following types:
Barbiturates
Short Name
R5
R5
Full Name
Allobarbital
CH2CHCH2
CH2CHCH2
5,5-diallylbarbiturate
Amobarbital
CH2CH3
CH2CH2CH(CH3)2
5-ethyl-5-isopentyl-barbiturate
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Aprobarbital
CH2CHCH2
CH(CH3)2
5-allyl-5-isopropyl-barbiturate
Alphenal
CH2CHCH2
C6H5
5-allyl-5-phenyl-barbiturate
Barbital
CH2CH3
CH2CH3
5,5-diethylbarbiturate
Brallobarbital
CH2CHCH2
CH2CBrCH2
5-allyl-5-(2-bromo-allyl)-barbiturate
Phenobarbital
CH2CH3
C6H5
5-phenyl-5-ethylbarbiturate
The primary difference among them is how long their effects last. The effects of some of the long-acting drugs may last
up to 2 days. Others are very short acting. Their effects last only a few minutes.
Barbiturates can be injected into the veins or muscles, but they are usually taken in pill form. The street names of
commonly abused barbiturates describe the desired effect of the drug or the color and markings on the actual pill.
Slang names for these barbiturates include yellow jackets, reds, blues, Amy's, and rainbows. Barbiturate Names used by
the users is given bellow:
Generic Name
Street Name
Amobarbital
Pentobarbital
Phenobarbital
Secobarbital
Reds, red birds, red devils, lilly, F-40s, pinks, pink ladies, seggy
Tuinal
Rainbows, reds and blues, tooies, double trouble, gorilla pills, F-66s
Barbiturates have been used extensively in the past as sedatives. A new group of drugs called "benzodiazepines" has
replaced many of the barbiturates. However, barbiturates are still used to treat some types of epilepsy.
History of use and abuse:
Barbiturates were first used in medicine in the early 1900s and became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as treatment for
anxiety, insomnia, or seizure disorders. With the popularity of barbiturates in the medical population, barbiturates as drugs
of abuse evolved as well. Barbiturates were abused to reduce anxiety, decrease inhibitions, and treat unwanted effects of
illicit drugs. Barbiturates can be extremely dangerous because the correct dose is difficult to predict. Even a slight
overdose can cause coma or death. Barbiturates are also addictive and can cause a life-threatening withdrawal syndrome.
Uses of Barbiturates:
Insomnia Treatment: So-called sleeping pills have been found to be less effective than tranquilizers. Minor
tranquilizers may be used for a few nights to restore the sleep cycle and to reduce anxiety, but they are not meant
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as a long-term treatment. Currently the most effective therapy is to identify any problems that may be preventing
sleep and to attempt to solve them, meanwhile reducing the person's anxiety about the insomnia itself.
Psychiatry: Anxiety, tension, and insomnia are often treated with drugs that are commonly called minor
tranquilizers. Barbiturates have been used for the longest time, but they produce more severe side effects and are
more often abused than the newer classes of antianxiety drugs. Of the new drugs, the benzodiazepines are the
most frequently prescribed, very often in nonpsychiatric settings.
Pharmacological use: Barbiturates reversibly depress the activity of all excitable tissues. The use of
phenobarbital in epilepsy, one of the few major remaining useful areas of barbiturate pharmacology, is due to its
selective anticonvulsant activity depressing low frequency electrical activity in the cortex. Tolerance to
barbiturates occurs with continued use. At first, a generalized sedative effect gives way to tolerance, especially
toward effects on mood, sedation, and hypnosis. Like other central nervous system depressant drugs, barbiturates
are abused and some individuals develop a dependence on them. Dependence upon and tolerance to barbiturates
are closely related. The former, generating the drug seeking behavior that leads to increased usage and consequent
higher levels of tolerance and hence the extent, duration, and continuity of abuse prior to withdrawal.
Barbiturate abuse:
Barbiturates, like alcohol, are thought to relax the brain. Pain medicines, sleeping pills, and medicines for allergies also
cause symptoms similar to those of barbiturates. You may abuse barbiturates to get a "high" or a feeling of well being. In
small doses, you may feel drowsy, bold, and drunk. In higher doses, you may stagger as if you are drunk, have slurred
speech, and be confused. The following may also be seen with barbiturate abuse:
Always in situations that are physically dangerous. These may include driving a car or using a machine when
impaired by barbiturates.
Fails to fulfill major duties at home, work, or school. Very often absent, unable to work well, and neglects
children or household.
Legal problems. Often arrested for substance-related activities, such as theft, robbery, and destructive or angry
behavior.
Problems with social and personal life. Has problems getting along with others such as parents or a spouse. Often
involved in physical fights or arguments.
Effects of Barbiturate:
Ultra short barbiturates such as thiopental (Pentothal) produce unconsciousness within about a minute of intravenous
injection. These drugs are used to prepare patients for surgery; other general anesthetics like nitrous oxide are then used to
keep the patient from waking up before the surgery is complete. Because Pentothal and other ultrashort-acting barbiturates
are typically used in hospital settings, they are not very likely to be abused, noted the DEA.
Abusers tend to prefer short-acting and intermediate-acting barbiturates. The most commonly abused are amobarbital
(Amytal), pentobarbital (Nembutal), and secobarbital (Seconal). A combination of amobarbital and secobarbital (called
Tuinal) is also highly abused. Short-acting and intermediate-acting barbiturates are usually prescribed as sedatives and
sleeping pills. These pills begin acting fifteen to forty minutes after they are swallowed, and their effects last from five to
six hours. Veterinarians use pentobarbital to anesthetise animals before surgery; in large doses, it can be used to euthanise
animals.
Long-acting barbiturates such as phenobarbital (Luminal) and mephobarbital (Mebaral) are prescribed for two main
reasons. When taken at bedtime, they help treat insomnia. When taken during the day, they have sedative effects that can
aid in the treatment of tension and anxiety. These same effects have been found helpful in the treatment of convulsive
conditions like epilepsy. Phenobarbital has also been used in the treatment of delirium tremens during alcohol
detoxification, although benzodiazepines have a more favorable safety profile and are more often used. Long-acting
barbiturates take effect within one to two hours and last 12 hours or longer.
The specific effects of Barbiturates are gaven bellow:
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Depressant: Any drug or chemical that decreases the activity of any bodily function. The term most often is used
to refer to drugs that reduce the activity of the central nervous system. The sedative effects of these agents tend to
reduce pain, relieve anxiety, and induce sleep. They include the barbiturates, tranquilizers such as diazepam and
meprobamate (see Barbiturate; Tranquilizer), and the narcotic analgesics morphine, codeine, meperidine, and
propoxyphene (see Analgesic; Narcotics). At higher doses, depressant drugs can cause coma or death.
Poisoning: Because barbiturates are easily available, toxic effects resulting from their misuse are not infrequent.
Acute poisoning may result from overdosage or interaction with other drugs, especially alcohol. The victim of
acute barbiturate poisoning may become agitated and nauseated, or may pass into a deep sleep marked by
increasingly shallow respiration. Coma and heart failure may follow. Chronic barbiturate poisoning, caused by
prolonged use of the drugs, is usually marked by gastrointestinal irritation, loss of appetite, and anemia. In
advanced stages of chronic barbiturate poisoning the victim may show mental confusion.
Sedative: Sedative, any of the drugs used to reduce nervous tension or induce sleep. Often referred to as sedativehypnotic drugs, these substances generally have a calming and relaxing effect on the central nervous system and
muscles when taken in small doses, and a hypnotic, or sleep-producing, effect when taken in larger doses.
Cannabis
Cannabis, common name for a drug made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis
sativa (see Cannabis). People smoke, chew, or eat cannabis for its hallucinogenic and intoxicating effects. It is known by a
number of slang names, including pot, grass, reefer, weed, and Mary Jane.
Cannabis Plant Cannabis is formed from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa.
Popularly known as grass, pot, reefer, and Mary Jane, cannabis is smoked or chewed for its intoxicating effect,
and it has also been used as a sedative and analgesic. Hashish is formed from the resin of the flowering tops of the same
plant, and it is five to eight times more potent than cannabis when smoked.Photo Researchers, Inc.
Cannabis Plant Cannabis is formed from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant Cannabis sativa.
Popularly known as grass, pot, reefer, and Mary Jane, cannabis is smoked or chewed for its intoxicating effect,
and it has also been used as a sedative and analgesic. Hashish is formed from the resin of the flowering tops of the same
plant, and it is five to eight times more potent than cannabis when smoked.Photo Researchers, Inc.
Known in India, Central Asia, and China as early as 3000 BC, cannabis has long been used as both a medicine and an
intoxicant. It gained widespread use in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, becoming the second most popular drug
after alcohol, and its popularity continued through the end of the 20th century, particularly among American teens.
According to a survey prepared in 1998 by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, cannabis use among teenagers
increased almost 300 percent from 1992 to 1998.
Most countries consider cannabis an illegal substance, but individual countries vary on how they prosecute the use and
possession of cannabis. Some countries only impose small fines, while others impose harsher punishment, including
imprisonment.Cannabis smuggled into the United States, whether grown in Mexico or transshipped from other Latin
American source areas, accounts for most of the cannabis available in the United States. Cannabis produced in Mexico
remains the most widely available. Moreover, high-potency cannabis enters the U.S. drug market from Canada. The
availability of cannabis from Southeast Asia generally is limited to the West Coast. U.S. drug law enforcement reporting
also suggests increased availability of domestically grown cannabis.
Many users describe two phases of cannabis intoxication: initial stimulation, which includes giddiness and euphoria,
followed by sedation and pleasant tranquility. Mood changes are often accompanied by altered perceptions of time and
space. Thinking processes become disrupted by fragmentary ideas and memories. Many users report increased appetite,
heightened sensory awareness, and general feelings of pleasure.
Effects
Cannabis has psychoactive and physiological effects when consumed, usually by smoking or ingestion. The minimum
amount of THC required to have a perceptible psychoactive effect is about 10 micrograms per kilogram of body weight
(which, in practical terms, is a varying amount, dependent upon potency). A related compound, 9-tetrahydrocannabivarin,
also known as THCV, is produced in appreciable amounts by certain drug strains. This cannabinoid has been described in
the popular literature as having shorter-acting, flashier effects than THC, but recent studies suggest that it may actually
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inhibit the effects of THC. Relatively high levels of THCV are common in African dagga (marijuana), and in hashish from
the northwest Himalayas.
2. (e).(i) Smoking
Cannabis can be smoked in a variety of ways, some of which are more popular than others. The most common methods of
smoking cannabis involve the use of implements such as bongs and smoking pipes, or rolling joints or blunts. These
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methods differ by: the preparation of the cannabis plant before use; the parts of the cannabis plant which is used; and the
treatment of the smoke before inhalation.
2. (e).(ii) Vaporization
A vaporizer heats herbal cannabis to 365410 F (185210 C), which turns the active ingredients into gas without
burning the plant material (the boiling point of THC is 392 F (200C) at 0.02 mm Hg pressure, and somewhat higher at
standard atmospheric pressure). A lower proportion of toxic chemicals are released than by smoking, although this may
vary depending on the design of the vaporizer and the temperature at which it is set. A MAPS-NORML study using a
Volcano vaporizer reported 95% THC and no toxins delivered in the vapor. However, an older study using less
sophisticated vaporizers found more toxins. The effects from a vaporizer are noticeably different to that of smoking
cannabis. Users have reported a more euphoric hallucinogen type high, because the vapor contains more pure THC.