Heroin Drug Testing

Heroin is a highly addictive opioid drug made from morphine, which is derived from the opium poppy. Heroin is part of a group of drugs known as opiates or opioids. Other opioids include morphine and methadone.

Heroin has various street names. It is also known as smack, H, junk, brown, skag and gear. It is one of the most addictive illegal drugs in the UK.

What Does Heroin Look Like?

In its purest form heroin is a white powder. However it usually contains a mix of other substances such as glucose, talcum powder or even brick dust. When heroin is impure it comes as a brown powder and usually contains caffeine. Heroin is normally wrapped in small packets of paper.

How Is Heroin Taken?

Heroin can be smoked with tobacco or on its own (smoked heroin is usually brown), snorted through the nose or dissolved and injected. If you choose to inject heroin, make sure you are with other people who can call an ambulance if you overdose.

What are the immediate effects of heroin?

Heroin in small doses can give the user a sense of warmth and well-being. In larger doses it makes the user feel drowsy, relaxed and separate from the real world. These effects can last for several hours. Snorting heroin means the drug dissolves slowly through the fine skin in the nostrils and enters the bloodstream gradually, the effect is usually felt within 15 minutes.

Smoking heroin can produce effects very quickly, causing a warm, relaxing surge through the body. Smoking heroin still carries a risk of overdose.

Injecting the drug is a quick way of getting a lot of heroin directly into the bloodstream and to the brain. Before injecting it has to be mixed with an acid, such as citric acid. Lemon juice should not be used as this can cause a fungal infection in the eyes or heart. Injecting is the most dangerous way of taking heroin.

Naloxone can temporarily reverse the life-threatening effects of a heroin or other opioid overdose while emergency medical help is obtained.

What Are the Long-term Effects of Heroin?

Heroin is addictive even when smoked and users will need more of the drug to feel good. Some people may take excessive amounts of heroin to maintain this feel good factor and it can result in an overdose, coma and in some cases death. People who inject and share needles are also at risk of dangerous infections like H.I.V. and hepatitis B or C. Injecting can also cause damage to your veins, which can lead to ulcers or gangrene.

People who have been using heroin for some time may require professional help or treatment to overcome their dependence on the drug. Withdrawal can cause symptoms including sweating, shaking, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness and difficulty sleeping. Medical and drug treatment services can provide support with heroin dependence and withdrawal.

What Class Drug Is Heroin?

In the UK, heroin is a Class A drug and it is illegal to possess, supply or produce it without lawful authority. If you’re addicted to heroin and you want to stop, you can ask your GP or local drug treatment service for help.

Detecting Heroin with an 18 Panel Urine Drug Test

Urine drug tests can be used to screen for opiates, including heroin use. Multi-panel tests can be useful where screening for several drug groups from a single urine sample is required.

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