Heroin/Brown Sugar

Heroin  is a highly addictive drug also  called smack, junk, skag, dope, and chaw.

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It is derived from morphine which is a natural opioid derived from the seed pods of poppy plants.

It is usually a pale brown powder, white powder or sticky tar like called tar heroin.

As per the Times of India, heroin manufacturing in the South east Asian countries is about 40 tonnes  , 17 tonnes of which is consumed by India alone. This is stark evidence enough of the looming problem of heroin in the country.

Brown sugar which is the street form of heroin contains only 20 % heroin in it and is adulterated by talcum powder, milk powder, strychnine and other unknown substances. The adulterants makes it a very dangerous substance to consume.

Modes of intake

Snorting

Smoking

Chasing (most common for brown sugar) wherein the substance is placed on a tin foil, which is heated from beneath it and the fumes thus created are inhaled.

Fixed/injected – to inject brown or heroin it has to be mixed with an acid usually , ascorbic or citric acid. Even then many of the adulterants do not dissolve if it is brown sugar.

Heroin is many times mixed with Crystal meth – this is called “Speedballing”

The Effects

The instant effect is a surge of euphoria created by the substance attaching itself to the opioid receptors in the brain  .It affects the areas controlling, pain , pleasure, heart rate , sleeping and respiration.

Short term effects

Warmth of skin, dry mouth, heaviness of limbs, nausea, inability to function mentally.

Long term effects

Abscesses on body, ulcers, fired thickened walls of blood vessels, infection of the pericardium (lining of the heart) and the blood vessel linings Mental health issues like depression , anxiety etc. , sexual dysfunction in men and menstrual irregularities in women, liver and renal disease.

Diseases like Hepatitis C , HIV that are contracted due to sharing needles and risky sexual behavior of not using condoms during intercourse.

Overdose 

Overdose commonly occurs with heroin and can happen with brown sugar too and is on the rise.

As a person is overdosing the person’s respiratory rate reduces resulting in hypoxia or lack of oxygen to the brain, this can result in seizures, coma and even death or permanent brain damage.

Withdrawals on stopping heroin/brown sugar

Body ache- muscular and joint pains, at times bone pains- excruciating.

Strong cravings which can be uncontrollable

Stomach cramps

Muscular cramps

Restlessness

Uncontrolled shaking of the legs

Lachrymation, Coryza

Lack of appetite

Diarrhea and vomiting

Sleep issues at times excessive sleep

Since a few years in India in  the withdrawals from Brown sugar –  seizures have also been observed caused primarily due to the unknown adulterants that go into its making.

Treatment

Harm reduction

Across the workd harm reduction therapies have been tried for heroin and brown sugar which involves Buprenorphine and or Methadone being given at specified centres as per dose required to tide over the withdrawals.

However, Harm reduction has not been found to be too successful .

Long term successful treatment has been residential rehabilitation care after detox in a hospital. This in an environment that is voluntary, accepting, free, non- regimented,  non- judgmental, compassionate which involves  non -medical care with meditation, counseling and other alternate therapies as therapeutic techniques to go beyond finding the need to use.

The individual discovers self -love and dignity in life and learns to live a balanced fulfilling life.

LSD

LSD or D Lysergic acid di-ethylamide is from a class of drugs called Hallucinogens .

It is a clear odorless chemical made from lysergic acid which is derived from the fungus ergot growing on the rye plant.

Street names- Acid, Blotter, Dots, Yellow sunshine.

Modes of use- tablets, pills, swallowing as liquid, blotters which are the liquid dropped on paper and stuck to the upper palate or tongue from which it absorbs into the system.

Repeated use increases tolerance and consequent increased use which is dangerous , hence is believed to be included in chemicals with a potential for addiction.

History

It was first processed in 1938 by Albert Hoffman who got aware of its psychedelic properties when a few drops of the liquid fell on his skin and he started hallucinating.

In the early 1960s’ LSD was used in scientific research and for treatment of schizophrenia , addiction to alcohol , depression and spiritual enhancement etc.

Then it entered the streets and abused due to which it was made illegal and a Schedule 1 drug- indicating it is possible of high amounts of abuse.

Effects on brain.- called as a “trip”

Desegregation

The brain’s neural network is usually segregated. However, with the LSD the segregation is broken down and a connection with all parts of the brain develops resulting in a kind of ego dissolution.

Seeing with eyes shut- Visual hallucinations

The visual cortex is affected thereby, even with closed eyes the person is capable of seeing things which is the visual hallucinatory component of the drug. There are also profound changes in consciousness.

It can cause synesthesia whereby one can “feel” music and “taste” odors i.e. the sensory organ functions are all mixed up.

LSD is considered to be a fat soluble chemical – hence thought to stay in the fat cells of the body resulting in “flashbacks” wherein there are flashes of the same high or sudden hallucinations which last for some time and then disappear.

LSD induced psychoses is known to happen with multiple or even a single strong hit of the drug– called as Hallucinogen Persisting Perceptual Disorder (HPPD) Psychosis is a break from reality. This includes delusion ( false beliefs which are real to the person believing in them and cannot be altered by any amount of reasoning or confrontation with reality) and hallucinations

Problems also arise when the drug is used in combination with alcohol, weed etc.

Physical effects

Rapid heart rate, Imbalanced gait , loss of appetite, weakness , mild gastritis, vomiting etc.

Treatment

Residential stay for a substantial period as it takes 6-8 weeks for the susbtance to leave the tissues of the body. The stay ahs to be accepting, non threatening caring with love and compassion as its baseline. Mediation , Counseling and other alternate therapies are the need of the hour. Anatta is a luxury facility catering to the same.http://anatta.in

ADDICTION TO COUGH SYRUPS WITH CODEINE DERIVATIVES

The innocuous cough syrup that usually acts immediately when one has a common cold or bad cough in providing relief to us , can also become addictive if taken in unnatural amounts for a long enough period time.

The addictive component is the derivative of codeine or of opioid origin.

This requires a doctor’s prescription to obtain from the pharmacy.

The normal medical dose is 5-10ml a day about two or three times as advised by the physician.

Common brand names- Phensedyl, Corex etc.

If taken in large quantities it gives a drowsy feeling , buzzed out throughout the day which is then enjoyed by the person who is using it.

Quantities taken can be several bottles of 100ml or 50ml orally per day.

Side effects- Perspiration, insomnia, dryness of mouth, weight loss, lack of appetite, overt drowsiness, respiratory depression, pain in stomach, constipation, headache, dizziness, nausea , vomiting, anxiety, pancreatitis, Itchiness of skin, lowered blood pressure.

Long term effects of addiction - Insomnia, anxiety, nightmares, liver damage, physical pain, seizures, motor tremors, coma, death, multiple organ damage

Overdose- can result in - Pin point pupils, heaviness in chest, Unconsciousness, cyanosis (blueness around the lips and nail beds) , difficulty in breathing due to respiratory distress, Chest pain, sluggish pulse rate, vomiting, fatigue that is extreme.

Treatment

This involves stopping the substance to begin with . This can give rise to withdrawal symptoms that can be as follows-

Insomnia, stomach cramps, headaches, muscle pains, diarrhea, lack of appetite, rapid heartbeat, lachrymation, runny nose, yawning, heaviness in head, nausea, vomiting.

The period of Detoxification enables the individual seeking help to get beyond the withdrawals.

Treatment involves residential stay at a rehabilitation center for about 8-12 weeks in an accepting loving compassionate ambience. Treatment is of the addictive traits in the person and the inability to manage and deal with emotions that make the person doing the only thing they know to cope ie of using

Meditative techniques that are psychotherapeutic enable the client to relax, calm own, and bring to the fore suppressed and repressed emotions stored in the cellular memory. Counseling , sharing, writing and various alternate therapies facilitate in helping the client go beyond using to understanding oneself and living life fully without finding the need to use.