Heroin use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 

2 percent of high school seniors in the 

United States used the drug at least 

once in their lifetime, and nearly half of 

those injected the drug, according to 

the University of Michigan’s Monitoring 

the Future Survey.

Heroin is injected, snorted, or

smoked. Many new, younger users begin

by snorting or smoking heroin because

they wish to avoid the social stigma

attached to injection drug use. These

users often mistakenly believe that

snorting or smoking heroin will not lead

to addiction. Users who snort or smoke

heroin at times graduate to injection

because as their bodies become conditioned to the drug, the effects it produces are less intense. They then turn

to injection—a more efficient means of

administering the drug—to try to attain

the more intense effects they experienced when they began using the drug.

Both new and experienced users 

risk overdosing on heroin because it is 

impossible for them to know the purity 

of the heroin they are using. (Heroin 

sold on the street often is mixed with 

other substances such as sugar, starch, 

or quinine. An added risk results when 

heroin is mixed with poisons such as 

strychnine.) Heroin overdoses—which 

can result whether the drug is snorted, 

smoked, or injected—can cause slow 

and shallow breathing, convulsions, 

coma, and even death.

How is heroin abused?

What are the risks?

What is heroin?

What does it look like?

Who uses heroin?

Heroin is a highly addictive and 

rapidly acting opiate (a drug that is 

derived from opium). Specifically, 

heroin is produced from morphine, 

which is a principal component of 

opium. Opium is a naturally occurring substance that is extracted from 

the seedpod of the opium poppy.

The appearance of heroin can vary 

dramatically. In the eastern United 

States, heroin generally is sold as a 

powder that is white (or off-white) in 

color. (Generally, the purer the heroin 

the whiter the color, because variations in color result from the presence 

of impurities.) In the western United 

States, most of the heroin available is 

a solid substance that is black in 

color. This type of heroin, known as 

black tar, may be sticky (like tar) or 

hard to the touch. Powdered heroin 

that is a dirty brown color also is sold 

in the western United States.

Individuals of all ages use heroin—data reported in the National 

Household Survey on Drug Abuse 

indicate that an estimated 3,091,000 

U.S. residents aged 12 and older have 

used heroin at least once in their 

lifetime. The survey also revealed that 

many teenagers and young adults 

have used heroin at least once— 

76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 

474,000 individuals aged 18 to 25.

All heroin users—not just those 

who inject the drug—risk becoming 

addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin 

over time develop a tolerance for the 

drug, meaning that they must use 

increasingly larger doses to achieve the 

same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the 

drug. Heroin ceases to produce feelings 

of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel 

normal. Addicted individuals who stop 

using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include 

heroin craving, restlessness, muscle 

and bone pain, and vomiting.

Heroin users who inject the drug 

expose themselves to additional risks, 

including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and 

C, and other blood-borne viruses. 

Chronic users who inject heroin also 

risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, 

abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, 

and liver and kidney disease.

Heroin use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 

2 percent of high school seniors in the 

United States used the drug at least 

once in their lifetime, and nearly half of 

those injected the drug, according to 

the University of Michigan’s Monitoring 

the Future Survey.

Heroin is injected, snorted, or

smoked. Many new, younger users begin

by snorting or smoking heroin because

they wish to avoid the social stigma

attached to injection drug use. These

users often mistakenly believe that

snorting or smoking heroin will not lead

to addiction. Users who snort or smoke

heroin at times graduate to injection

because as their bodies become conditioned to the drug, the effects it produces are less intense. They then turn

to injection—a more efficient means of

administering the drug—to try to attain

the more intense effects they experienced when they began using the drug.

Both new and experienced users 

risk overdosing on heroin because it is 

impossible for them to know the purity 

of the heroin they are using. (Heroin 

sold on the street often is mixed with 

other substances such as sugar, starch, 

or quinine. An added risk results when 

heroin is mixed with poisons such as 

strychnine.) Heroin overdoses—which 

can result whether the drug is snorted, 

smoked, or injected—can cause slow 

and shallow breathing, convulsions, 

coma, and even death.

How is heroin abused?

What are the risks?

What is heroin?

What does it look like?

Who uses heroin?

Heroin is a highly addictive and 

rapidly acting opiate (a drug that is 

derived from opium). Specifically, 

heroin is produced from morphine, 

which is a principal component of 

opium. Opium is a naturally occurring substance that is extracted from 

the seedpod of the opium poppy.

The appearance of heroin can vary 

dramatically. In the eastern United 

States, heroin generally is sold as a 

powder that is white (or off-white) in 

color. (Generally, the purer the heroin 

the whiter the color, because variations in color result from the presence 

of impurities.) In the western United 

States, most of the heroin available is 

a solid substance that is black in 

color. This type of heroin, known as 

black tar, may be sticky (like tar) or 

hard to the touch. Powdered heroin 

that is a dirty brown color also is sold 

in the western United States.

Individuals of all ages use heroin—data reported in the National 

Household Survey on Drug Abuse 

indicate that an estimated 3,091,000 

U.S. residents aged 12 and older have 

used heroin at least once in their 

lifetime. The survey also revealed that 

many teenagers and young adults 

have used heroin at least once— 

76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 

474,000 individuals aged 18 to 25.

All heroin users—not just those 

who inject the drug—risk becoming 

addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin 

over time develop a tolerance for the 

drug, meaning that they must use 

increasingly larger doses to achieve the 

same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the 

drug. Heroin ceases to produce feelings 

of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel 

normal. Addicted individuals who stop 

using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include 

heroin craving, restlessness, muscle 

and bone pain, and vomiting.

Heroin users who inject the drug 

expose themselves to additional risks, 

including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and 

C, and other blood-borne viruses. 

Chronic users who inject heroin also 

risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, 

abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, 

and liver and kidney disease.

Big H

Boy

Capital H

China white

Chiva

Dead on arrival

Diesel

Dope

Eighth

Good H

H

Hell dust

Horse

Junk

Mexican horse 

Mud

Poppy

Smack

Thunder

Train

White junk

Street Terms for Heroin
DEA

Heroin

Fast Facts

www.usdoj.gov/ndic

Other products of interest:

For more information on illicit drugs 

check out our web site at:

www.usdoj.gov/ndic 

Call 814-532-4541 

to request NDIC products

, Huffing—The Abuse of Inhalants

, Prescription Drug Abuse and Youth

, Drugs,Youth, and the Internet

National Drug Intelligence Center

319 Washington Street, 5th Floor

Johnstown, PA 15901-1622

Telephone: 814-532-4601

FAX: 814-532-4690

NDIC Washington Liaison Office

8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001

McLean, VA 22102-3840

Telephone: 703-556-8970

FAX: 703-556-7807

NDIC publications are available on the following web sites:

ADNET http://ndicosa

LEO home.leo.gov/lesig/ndic

RISS ndic.riss.net

INTERNET www.usdoj.gov/ndic

Is heroin illegal?

Yes, heroin is illegal. Heroin is a 

Schedule I substance under the 

Controlled Substances Act. 

Schedule I drugs have a high 

potential for abuse and serve no 

legitimate medical purpose in the 

United States.

Cover Photo: DEA

Check out Fast Facts on:

, Crack cocaine

, Crystal methamphetamine

, GHB and analogs

, Inhalants

, Jimsonweed

, Ketamine

, Khat

, LSD

, Marijuana

, MDMA

, Methamphetamine

, PCP

, Powdered cocaine

, Prescription drugs

, Yaba NDIC Product No. 2003-L0559-003

National Drug Intelligence Center

a component of the 

U.S. Department of Justice

051503

Questions 

and 

Answers