What is the Heroin Definition, Exactly?

Most people have heard of heroin, yet they don’t understand the drug’s history, how it works in the body, and why it is so addictive. In fact, heroin has been around for thousands of years, especially in regions like Mexico, Latin America, and Asia. Learn the exact heroin definition, the history of heroin, what it does to the body, and how you can recover from heroin addiction or help a loved one recover.

What Is the Heroin Definition?

If you want to know the exact heroin definition, you’re in the right place. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Heroin is a strongly physiologically addictive narcotic, C21H23NO5, that is made by acetylation but is more potent than morphine and that is prohibited for medical use in the US but is used illicitly for its euphoric effects.”

Another name for heroin is diamorphine, and it also has numerous street names, such as dope, horse, junk, H, smack, black tar, hero, witch hazel, China white, brown sugar, and black pearl. Heroin, an opiate drug, derives from the opium poppy, a flowering plant, native to tropical climates.

What Is the Heroin Definition in History?

Historically, heroin was used for thousands of years in places like Asia, Latin America, and Mexico. It was generally chewed or smoked for its stimulant effects. In 1898, the Bayer pharmaceutical company of Germany synthesized it from the opium poppy plant and marketed it as a tonic and pain reliever drug in several types of medicines.

For the most part, heroin treated chronic and acute pain and it certainly worked. Like prescription opioid-based pain pills today, heroin does treat pain quite well.

Heroin is extremely addictive and this was discovered shortly after numerous people fell victim to heroin addiction in the early 1900s. Two serious epidemics of heroin addiction have plagued the United States. The first was after World War II, and the second was after the Vietnam War. Today, heroin is still a widespread problem.

How Does Heroin Work in the Body?

Heroin primarily affects the central nervous system and brain, but it basically affects every part of the body. The way that it affects the brain is most important.

Inside everyone’s brain are opioid receptors, and heroin attaches to these receptors directly when ingested. This depresses the central nervous system and spinal cord, slows motor functions, reduces pain, and increases euphoria and relaxation.

Call Beaches Recovery Today

Beaches Recovery, located in Jacksonville, Florida, a premier drug and alcohol rehab center, treats all types of addictions, including heroin addiction. Professional treatment is the only way to fully recover from an addiction to heroin. Beaches Recovery has many services to address a heroin addiction, including the following:

• Heroin detox services
• Residential drug rehab
• Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy
• Additional amenities experiential therapies and programs such as therapies in music, art, horse riding

We can help you as soon as today. Find out more about our services and how we will help you battle your addiction. Give us a call at 866.605.0532.