Social Deviance
Journal Entry 8
Heroin is a drug that is created through morphine. The morphine used is created through Asian opium poppy plant seeds and is referred to as black tar heroin if it comes in the black sticky substance form. It may also appear as white or brown powder. Roughly 4.2 million Americans 12 years and older used heroin once in their lifetime and 23% of them became dependent. Heroin can be injected, snorted and/or sniffed, or smoked. Heroin reaches the brain rapidly and can cause health risks and addiction. Heroin reacts to receptors located within the synapse of neurotransmitters. It binds with these receptors and can suppress the act of breathing. This suppression of breathing can lead to hypoxia due to the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain is affected and it can lead to psychology and neurological disorders. It can cause issues such as comas and permanent brain damages. Heroin injection can lead to dry mouth, hot flashes. limb heaviness and clouded mental function. They may entire a state where they alternate between consciousness and unconsciousness. Heroin addicts can build a tolerance to the drug and will need to continuously use more to receive the same affects. Heroin addicts become addicted to heroin to avoid the withdrawal symptoms. Heroin use has been linked to the deterioration of white matter. This deterioration can affect one's ability to make decisions, to regulate behavior, and react to stressful situations. Heroin withdrawal symptoms can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, and cold flashes. These withdrawal symptoms and the craving for the drug can lead to relapse and continued abuse. Heroin can cause spontaneous abortions, a low birth weight, and developmental delays. Children of heroin addicts may be born addicted to heroin if their mother used the drug during pregnancy.
One form of treatment is Narcan, a drug used to prevent drug overdoses in individuals using opium-based drugs. It binds to the same receptors as these opium-based drugs to prevent the drugs from binding to the respective receptors. Although the person has overdosed, it allows medical experts to prevent the person from overdosing and allows the individual to become alert. They then are able to take them to the hospital for further issues. Narcan has become an issue today because it is not as effective as it once was and why this is occurring depends on who is asked. There are those who believe that it is because the addicts are not only becoming tolerant to drugs but also to Narcan at the same time. There are individuals who point out that as the addiction continues, the more the individual uses. It isn't because the individual is tolerant to the Narcan, but because the person has used a higher dosage. Instead of taking one dose of drugs, they may have taken two or three doses of drugs to deal with their tolerance. This results in the individual having to receive two or three doses of Narcan to reverse th