Can you Snort Heroin?
Heroin is one of the most commonly abused substances and has contributed to the current opioid public health crisis. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2015, an estimated 13,000 people in the US overdosed on heroin. Those with a heroin use disorder ingest the drug in different ways in an attempt to get high. Can you snort heroin? Can you inject heroin? Can you smoke heroin? Yes to all of the above. Snorting, injecting and smoking heroin are the most common ways in which the drug is used.
Snorting heroin has become an even more popular method of abusing the drug. Snorting offers an intense and quick high due to its rapid ability to reach the bloodstream and into the brain. The drug is absorbed quickly through the nasal tissues to offer almost immediate pain relief.
Heroin Use Disorder
Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine. The Schedule I controlled substance is a common street drug that is often laced with other dangerous and unknown substances, making it even more risky to use. It comes in several forms including a black tar like consistency and in a powder form.
How do you identify if a person is using heroin? The person experiences shallow breathing. The person has pinpoint pupils. The person has bluish nails and lips. The person has tongue discoloration. The person has low blood pressure. The person has a weak pulse. The person may be experiencing muscle twitches. The person can also experience disorientation, confusion and delirium.
Methods of Heroin Use
Injecting Heroin
Heroin is a highly potent drug. An addiction to opioid substances can occur easily and quickly. Injecting heroin usually occurs in severe cases of heroin addiction. A study found that more than 50% of users reported that they have injected the drug. Injection of heroin results in a quick and intense high. It also puts the user at a very high risk of drug overdose.
Users will heat up the drug on a metal surface to create a liquid. Using the syringe needle, they will then inject the drugs into the veins or muscles. Injection of the drug allows it to enter the bloodstream and brain quickly, allowing for its effects to be felt more intensely.
However, with the injection of heroin, there are risks and adverse reactions. The risk of contracting blood-borne illnesses can occur if you share needles or use a dirty syringe. There is a risk of infection at the injection site, which can cause abscesses to grow. This bacterial infection at the skin site can be itchy and irritating. There is also a risk of organ damage such as to the heart, brain and kidney. Users may also be at risk of vein collapse due to the regular injection of drugs.
Smoking Heroin
Drug users often begin with smoking heroin because it is less intimidating than injecting the drug. Users heat up the drug in an aluminum foil or metal base and then inhale the vapor. Some users also use a glass pipe or add it to a blunt or cigarette to smoke.
Smoking heroin has its own set of dangers and risks. Risks for respiratory issues include difficulty breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath and fluid in the lungs. There is a high risk of developing an addiction because the drug enters the bloodstream and brain very quickly to become habit-forming. There is a high risk of permanent brain damage linked to smoking heroin. Users can develop toxic leukoencephalopathy. It is a form of brain damage that worsens over time. A person can experience slurred speech, changes in speech, and difficulty with processing or retaining information.
Can you Snort Heroin?
The process of snorting heroin is similar to snorting cocaine. Snorting heroin is also known as “chasing the dragon.” Those who do not have a severe heroin addiction are more likely to snort heroin because they aren’t looking to experience an intense and quick high. A heroin high from snorting can have a longer onset of effects, but can also last for several hours more than if the user were to inject heroin.
Heroin powder is usually snorted in lines similar to those of cocaine. Snorting heroin may seem less harmful than injecting the drug. However, there are just as many risks and dangers to snorting heroin.
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Dangers and Risks of Snorting Heroin
- Nasal damage – infection, sinusitis, chronic nosebleeds, chronic congestion, loss of smell or loss of taste, damage to the mucosal membrane, nasal inflammation and perforated septum
- Insufflation – heroin crosses the blood-brain barrier more quickly
- Risk of tolerance, dependence, addiction and overdose
- Mental health issues – increased mental health conditions or lead to new ones, such as depression, anxiety and cognitive impairments
- Contaminants and infections – street heroin can but cut with other unknown substances
- Financial and social consequences – heroin addiction can lead to loss of employment as well as deterioration of relationships between friends and family
- Risk of respiratory infections – difficulty breathing and risk of inhaling drugs into the lungs
- Frequent snorting can dull senses
- Impact cognitive functions
- Significantly reduce the ability to experience pleasure from everyday activities
- Behavioral changes and psychological
- Possession of paraphernalia
- Changes in routine that are out of the norm
- Depression and anxiety
- Nausea and vomiting
- Clouded mental cognition
What happens when you snort heroin?
When snorting heroin, the drug is inhaled through the nose and directly enters the bloodstream. The drug binds with opioid receptors in the brain that control pain, emotion, movement, blood pressure and breathing. This results in feelings of calm, elation and euphoria.
The act of snorting heroin has become more popular over the years due to the availability of high-purity heroin. In some rare cases, heroin users have turned to inhaling liquid forms of the drug from a nasal spray bottle. This method is known as shabanging. Some users have also snorted black tar heroin. It is sticky and black, like the consistency of tar. The substance is heated or diluted. Snorting black tar heroin is extremely dangerous and can cause serious damage to the nasal passageway. This type of drug use is also known as monkey water.
The effects of snorting take around 10-15 minutes or so to go into effect. The effects of injecting heroin occur within 7-8 seconds. Injecting heroin causes a higher risk of overdose, while snorting can expose the user to other diseases and damage to their body parts.
Why do people snort heroin?
Snorting is a method of drug ingestion that many mistakenly believe to be safer than other forms of drug ingestion. This is false. Snorting any type of drug comes with its own set of risks and dangers.
Some people snort heroin because they want to avoid using needles, which can cause infections, collapsed veins and put you at higher risk for blood-borne diseases.
Injecting heroin also comes with a strong negative stigma attached to it. The act of injecting drugs is stigmatizing. Some people find snorting heroin is less severe or less obvious and would rather use this method of drug administration.
Snorting heroin is also usually the initial method of ingestion. Snorting or smoking the drug is the most common. If a person develops a heroin use disorder, they usually move on to injecting the drug because it offers a quicker and intense euphoric high with more dangerous consequences.
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We specialize in treating addiction and other co-occurring disorders, such as PTSD. Our Admissions specialists are available to walk you through the best options for treating your addiction.
Treatment for Heroin Use Disorder
Heroin is a very addictive substance that can easily lead to an opioid use disorder or heroin use disorder. Behavioral health treatment programs such as Hotel California by the Sea provide treatment for those who are addicted to mind-altering substances like heroin.
We allow treatment at all levels of care including detox, residential, PHP and IOP. We utilize evidence-based treatment methods such as CBT, DBT, family therapy and group therapy. Hotel California by the Sea is dedicated to helping clients reach their goals in sobriety and overcome their addiction.
References:
https://zinniahealth.com/substance-use/heroin/ways-to-abuse
https://www.avenuesrecovery.com/understanding-addiction/heroin-addiction/can-you-snort-heroin
https://vertavahealth.com/heroin/insufflation/
https://www.alinalodge.org/heroin-addiction/dangers-and-side-effects-of-snorting-and-smoking-heroin/
https://www.bicyclehealth.com/opioid-education/heroin/snorting
https://www.drugrehab.com/addiction/drugs/heroin/snorting-heroin