Heroin, a powerful narcotic, acts upon the brain as a painkiller, increasing physical addiction and ongoing emotional dependence (Schaffer Library of…). Heroin has many challenging and highly risky effects on the user, all the more hazardous if overdosing is present. This extremely dangerous drug, heroin, will never cease being used, but may cease the existence of an individual.Heroin is a painkilling drug that is made from the Papaverum Somniferum, also known as the opium poppy plant. All opiates are addictive painkillers. Heroin starts as a milky sap of the opium poppy. The sap is then dried and becomes a gum. After washing the gum, it becomes opium. Morphine and codeine are two painkilling alkaloids that opium contains. Morphine from opium can be advanced to produce diamorphine, which is the prescribed name for heroin (United Kingdom).A British chemist discovered heroin in 1874. The trade name “heroin” originated from the new drug diacetylmorphine in 1898 when the Bayer Company in Germany began mass-producing the drug as a universal painkiller. Diacetylmorphine is the mixture of opium’s main ingredient, morphine, with a common acid, acetic anhydride. During this time, pharmaceutical manufacturers sold heroin in apparent medicines as a cure for various diseases. An example of one would be infantile respiratory ailments. In 1925, the League of Nations passed a law against the worldwide export of Heroin. In 1931, the policy stated that manufacturers could produce only enough heroin for legalized medical and scientific requirements (Schaffer Library of…).Heroin is available in all major city areas in the United States. Heroin is recognized by other street names such as: “dope”, “smack”, “junk, “brown”, “skag”, “h”, and “gear” (United Kingdom). Across the United States, the sources and qualities of heroin vary. ...
