Heroin in its pure form is a white powder with a bitter taste. However, most illicit heroin varies in color from white to dark brown. "Black tar" heroin is sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal, and its color may vary from dark brown to black. Users administer heroin by injecting, smoking, or snorting it. Heroin is brought into the U.S. from foreign sources of opium. Production of this drug occurs in South America, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia.

Heroin has a long history. The first source was opium from poppies around 6000 BC; the Greeks recorded opium addiction in the third century BC. The Chinese first inhaled it in the 17th century. In 16th-century Europe, Paracelsus invented laudanum - an opium-based medicine that was used for painkilling and sedation well into the 19th century, until morphine was developed. A more powerful variant, diamorphine (heroin), appeared in Germany in 1874 and by the 1930s it had overtaken opium as the cheaper narcotic.

The heroin effect is bigger than almost any other drug. It's a really powerful feeling that has no comparison in normal life. When heroin is injected intravenously, the "rush" is almost instantaneous, but even when it's smoked it only takes a few seconds.

• The user experiences feelings of euphoria and waves of incredible well-being flood in. All pain - physical and mental - disappears.
• The addictive effect is that you really love yourself.
• In small amounts heroin makes people very talkative, energized, impassioned and confident.
• In larger amounts it sends people into a trance-like state - they lose themselves in an interior world and they can't and don't want to communicate with anyone.
• The initial "rush" is followed by a mellow, chilled-out feeling that makes the world look rosy.
• The heroin effect starts to wear off after one to two hours, depending on the individual’s tolerance levels and how often the drug is used. The high will have worn off completely after approximately three to six hours.

There are numerous health risks associated with heroin use. These include but are not limited to:

• Addiction
• Abscesses
• Collapsed veins
• Bacterial infections
• Infection of heart lining and valves
• Arthritis and other rheumatologic problems
• Infectious diseases, for example, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C

Common signs of heroin use include but are not limited to:

• Unkempt appearance/hygiene issues
• Missing cash/valuables, stealing/borrowing money
• Change in performance, academic or otherwise
• Drug paraphernalia
• Apathy and/or lethargy
• Runny nose
• Lying/deception
• Change in friends
• Little or no motivation
• Ignores consequences of chosen behaviors
• Withdrawal from usual friends, activities, or interests
• Eyes appear "lost" or have faraway look
• Excess or sudden sleep
• Slurred speech
• Loss of interest in usual, healthy activities
• No interest in future plans
• Broken commitments
• Hostility towards others
• Unexplained absences at work, school or family events
• Poor self-image
• Difficulty in maintaining employment