HEROIN Essays - Euphoriants, Heroin, Morphine, Substance Dependence

HEROIN Essays - Euphoriants, Heroin, Morphine, Substance Dependence HEROIN Abstract The use of heroin continues to climb in most areas. The number of varieties and sources of heroin available, combined with an increased domestic demand make the heroin market the fastest growing drug market reported. While there are indications of increased use of heroin among younger, suburban users, it is the cadre of older, inner-city heroin users that drive the heroin market (DEA 1996). Almost all areas report that the majority of heroin users are older drug users (over 30) who have been using for many years. However, many areas are reporting an increase in the number of new or younger users. HEROIN 3 Heroin, Its Effects and Treatment Heroin (AKA: smack, horse, mud, brown sugar) has been a part of the drug culture for many years. It is primarily used through injection causing wide spread concerns for everyone. Syringes lost or left behind by users carry disease and narcotics which can effect anyone who comes in contact with them. Syringes from heroin addicts have been found at bus benches, vacant lots by schools, alleyways and public bathrooms. Diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, and tetanus are common amongst heroin addicts (Strategy 1996). Heroin is an opiate or a downer and is made from the resin taken from the seed pod of the poppy plant. The resin is processed in a variety of ways resulting in the final product known as heroin . The processing method determines the appearance of heroin as it is seen on the street. Black tar heroin looks like tootsie roll candy and/or dark caramel and has a strong vinegar odor to it. Black Tar heroin is packaged in small pieces of aluminum foil, tightly wrapped plastic and/or cellophane from cigarette packages. "The heroin affects the brain?s pleasure and pain system. It interferes with the brain?s ability to perceive pain and activates the brain?s pleasure system. The drug is fast acting, especially when injected or smoked. Injected heroin reaches the brain in 15-30 seconds, smoked heroin reaches the brain in 7 seconds" (Mckim, 1996). Non-intravenous heroin doesn?t give nearly as intense a rush and so is thought to be less addicting. People who snort heroin can often do so on and off for long periods of time without becoming strongly addicted. This occasional use of heroin is called HEROIN 4 "chipping" and it seems that some lucky people can remain successful chippers over months or even years. Unfortunately, a high percentage of chippers become addicts. Most junkies begin as chippers with no thought that they would ever become addicts (Drug Free, 1996). With the preferred method of heroin use being injection, you will generally see certain types of paraphernalia. This paraphernalia will include, but is not limited to, spoons with residue in the spoon along with a piece of cotton, the bottom side of the spoon having burn marks and the handle being bent downward somewhat. Syringes are also included in this paraphernalia along with soda bottle caps, which have the same use as the spoons. The spoons or caps are used to dilute and liquefy the heroin. The cotton in the spoon is for filtering the heroin as it is drawn into the syringe. To put a perspective on heroin, morphine is one of the strongest legal pain killers known and heroin is five times stronger. Heroin tends to relax the user. An immediate rush usually will occur and sometimes be accompanied by side effects such as restlessness, nausea and vomiting. A user of heroin may go on the "nod". This is best described as going back and forth from feeling alert to drowsy. Due to the use of needles with this drug, infections and abscesses on the body are common. Heroin users will normally have injuries that have been left unattended due to the drugs pain killing abilities. Addiction usually leads to malnutrition and weight loss. A person addicted to heroin may look like they are in a daze, almost to the point of sleep, have a dry mouth, HEROIN 5 low raspy voice, droopy eyelids, profuse itching, and fresh puncture marks or sores covering their body (Mckim, 1996). The greatest risks of being a heroin addict is death from heroin overdose. Each year about one percent of all heroin addicts in the

5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes

5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes 5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes 5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes By Mark Nichol Sentential adverbs (words such as indeed or namely and phrases like â€Å"that is† and â€Å"of course†), and their close cousins the conjunctive adverbs, or adverbial conjunctions (however, â€Å"on the other hand,† and the like), indicate an interruption of thought, and should themselves appear as interruptions. Because they are parenthetical remarks (the framing sentence would be complete without them), they should be set off by commas: â€Å"You must, after all, admit that it was a good effort.† If they are employed to indicate a new thought, stronger punctuation is called for: â€Å"They are highly skilled; however, they do not possess the level of knowledge you do.† (In each case, the adverb could also appear at the end of the sentence after a comma.) Often, though, the interruption in sentence structure is somewhere between comma country and semicolon stature: The phrase that begins with the adverb is something more than a dependent clause but not quite an independent clause. In these cases, the linking function of an em dash is appropriate: 1. â€Å"I thank them for putting up with this project with such good sportsmanship, indeed with such exuberance.† The phrase beginning with indeed is tacked on to the basic sentence to provide an additional, loosely related thought. Note the shift with an em dash, and follow the adverb with a comma to mark elision of a repetition of the phrase â€Å"for putting up with†: â€Å"I thank them for putting up with this project with such good sportsmanship indeed, with such exuberance.† 2. â€Å"There is a job to be done, namely educating educators how to effectively teach that wildlife conservation addresses quality of life for everyone.† The phrase that follows â€Å"There is a job to be done† is an explanation of what is meant by that phrase. The traditional marker for explanation is a colon, but an em dash does just as well. Again, set the adverb off with a comma: â€Å"There is a job to be done namely, educating educators how to effectively teach that wildlife conservation addresses quality of life for everyone.† (Without the comma, the sentence seems to refer to â€Å"namely educating educators,† but how do you do something in a namely manner?) 3. â€Å"They may also be judicially voided for being unreasonable, that is, unsupported by the evidence claimed to justify them.† A colon is often employed to set off a sentence from a subsequent clarification, but the adverb and the fact that the clarification is an incomplete sentence justifies use of an em dash here: â€Å"They may also be judicially voided for being unreasonable that is, unsupported by the evidence claimed to justify them.† 4. â€Å"Furthermore, a scientific conclusion is based on the past, i.e. previous studies that lead to present conclusions.† The initials i.e. (an abbreviation for id est, Latin for â€Å"that is†) gives you a clue that this sentence can be treated identically to the previous example. Note, however, that just as you follow â€Å"that is† with a comma, set i.e. (and the similar e.g., which means â€Å"for example†) off from the following phrase: â€Å"Furthermore, a scientific conclusion is based on the past i.e., previous studies that lead to present conclusions.† 5. â€Å"Ethics, on the other hand, is future oriented, that is to say a present choice is based on a future desire, intent, or consequence.† This sentence contains two adverbial phrases: â€Å"on the other hand,† and â€Å"that is to say.† The first one, a simple parenthetical phrase, need not concern us, but the latter is an expanded version of â€Å"that is† and needs the same treatment as the short form: â€Å"Ethics, on the other hand, is future oriented that is to say, a present choice is based on a future desire, intent, or consequence.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartTry to vs. Try andStarting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.