Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly growing drug in the opiate family. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder. There is also a form that is black and sticky known on the streets as "black tar heroin". Opiates are drugs that are derived from a naturally occurring substance found in the poppy plant. Although the purity of the heroin that reaches the streets is becoming greater, most street heroin is cut or diluted. Usually this is done with another drug, or a substance such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. The reaso

How heroin is perceived by the American public-

Teenagers of course have a completely different understanding of drugs in general. Where they are curious and open minded about such things, adults are not. Upper and middle class suburban teenagers usually don't know much about the drug or what it does. This is the same ignorance that often leads them into using it. Often to this culture, heroin is just something that they see stories on the news about, but they feel that they would never do such a thing, until they do it. As far as the lower class teenager goes, it is an entirely different story. These kids are often brought up seeing it used and sold on a daily basis by the time they reach 12 or 13. What brings these kids to use it is usually curiosity of it. Seeing it everyday they begin to wonder what its all about. The poor poverty life that comes with the use of it, does not seem that bad to them, because that is what they are used to. The American government sees heroin as a widely growing problem, and is often considered a growing epidemic. There has been large debate as of recently, about how exactly an addiction to this drug should be treated. Often the addicts of this drug are look at by the rest of society as trash not worth saving. Heroin addicts almost always realize they have a major problem, but usually feel that the effort needed to quit, is just not worth it. They realize it is a problem but they are content with it.

Heroin is a drug that can reach anyone. From a middle school honor roll student, to a college grad that made the dean's list, to a prostitute on the streets of Los Angeles. The path to heroin starts out very innocently. A rebellious teenager gives into a lot of peer pressure, and decides to take a hit of a cigarette. Once that is done, that downward spiral starts. After the teenager has become numb to the idea that cigarettes are bad, alcohol seems more and more enticing. After the rush of getting drunk becomes a bore, Marijuana may come into play. Once a teenager reaches this point, there are really two roads that they can choose. The one road, leads them into harder more powerful drugs, with greater addictions, such as heroin. The other road is a teenager that decides, enough is enough, and still has a chance to turn back and write off the previous drug use as any teenager rebellion. Much to often the first path is followed. Once the subject decides to take that first hit of the drug, it is almost always completely downhill from there.

What the drug does to the family and people around the user-

n heroin is one of the most deadly drugs is because there are varying rates at which the drug is diluted. Therefore a user never knows exactly how pure the drug is, hence, they do not know how much of the drug they should take, often leading to an overdose. Like alcohol, heroin is a depressant that slo

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Approximate Word count = 1944
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)