Heroin

Opium is extracted from a particular variety of poppy seeds. The main constituent of opium is morphine.

With very simple chemical reaction morphine can be converted into heroin and it is very dangerous because one dose can make you an addict and over dose can end your life.

Heroin is metabolized in the body to 6-acetylmorphine and morphine and all the three can make you addict.

It is sold as a white or brown powder which contains different amounts of heroin stretched (mixed) with different other substances to make more money.

The main effects are euphoria followed by alternative wakefulness and drowsiness and the mental function is affected.

Infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B or other sexually transmitted diseases are transmitted when the same needle is used by different addicts to inject heroine. To prevent this new needles are supplied sometimes in some countries free of cost to the addicts.

How does one become addict so quickly? If we take medicines or drugs corresponding receptors are formed in our brain and normally if you stop the medicine or tablets, the receptor disappears, but in the case of opiates, where morphine mono acetylmorphine and heroin are members, the heroin receptors are formed but even after they are completely excreted from the body, the receptors are not disappearing. You get the carving to get more and more to fill up these receptors, you try to get it at any cost to avoid the withdrawal symptoms and the vicious cycle starts without an end mostly till your death.

Here we try to fill the receptors with medicines like methadone which have a very high half life period so that there will be no withdrawal symptoms. In course of time patients successfully practising thse substitution therapy could lead a normal life. A strong will is necessary to out of this addiction.

How often does one need the heroin injection? It always depends upon the amount of heroin present in the powder. Heroin has only few minutes half life period, the time in which the amount of heroin becomes half in one’s body. Mono acetylmorphine, the first metabolite of heroin has 10 to 15 minutes and morphine has two to four hours half life period. So one needs few injections in a day and is prepared to get it at any cost.

One may take the several thousand euros valuable watch of the mother and sell it for two doses of heroin; the black market price of heroin may be only 60 euros per injection. The addicts break the house to steal money and other things and they break the drug stores, steal the medicines there and swallow whatever they get. Very often they also try to snatch the handbags of old women.

There are several other examples like this and the worst problem is prostitution including child prostitution and thereby HIV/AIDS infection. NGOs and government try with social workers here to inform about the safer sex with condom so that there will be less infections. It is a continuous but losing fight, but it is worth doing.

Say always no to drugs; they are not good for our health…

Have you ever tried any of these drugs abused?

No, I know how harm it could make for my health, I am more happy with few friends or with a cup of black coffee or with a wonderful glass of red wine or my family from where I derive my pleasure and strength.

In my safe in our institute with a licence from the central medical authorities of our government I had all the pure drugs – cannabis to heroin including all party drugs - as well as the drugs from the parents who had found out doubtful substances from their children’s bags or pockets which came to us for analysis.

Once I wanted to test the metabolism and pharmacokinetic of a substitution medicine, dihydrocodeine for heroin addicts. After getting the permission of ethic committee of the doctors association from our state I took four days to know the effects of this substitution medicine, dihydrocodeine, the concentration in my body, to know the metabolic pattern in urine and the duration of its presence in my body, so to say about its metabolism.

The main condition was that during this period of 6 days I should not drive my car, come to office only in Taxi and should not use my car even for emergency reasons. My taxi driver was very happy during these days.

Another doctor may take one more medicine, like this we improved our knowledge irrespective of the information from the pharmaceutical companies or other agencies who give lot of information and publications from their own results and views. Each side say, they are correct, so it is better to test personally and have the first hand information.

Say always no to drugs; they are not good for our health…

Heroin or morphine is a strong pain killer, do they feel any pain?

Heroin and morphine are very strong painkillers. In the beginning even heroin is used as a painkiller in many countries.

Today pure heroin is given to very strong addicts in some countries as a medicine so that they need nor buy the dirty street hereins with several additives to increase the weight to make more money. Very few countries are allowing this with strict supervision.

The addicts do not feel any pain except the withdrawal symptoms if the receptors are free. This painkilling effect makes the story worse.

Mostly the addicts have bad oral hygiene, the bacteria attack the gums and tooth fall is the result. Normally they do not work and so have no health insurance and the social welfare department has to pay, some go to the dentist and some do not. This means you can see patients without teeth; the main reason is, as you told, heroin or morphine is strong painkillers and they do not feel the tooth pain till the end.

Say always no to drugs; they are not good for our health…

What are the possible body fluids to measure drugs of abuse?

Normally urine is the best because there you can see the metabolic pattern of the drugs. Most of the drugs could be found up to a period of 72 hours.

There is also a confirmation of the purity of the sample with urine because mostly it is collected in medical centres or in your doctor’s office. Here the patient has no chance or very little chance to cheat us.

Blood is a difficult sample because the half life of most of the drugs is very short and the concentrations are very low. If you want to produce good results the instrumentations are not only very costly but also very sensitive. The persons assisting you must have good qualification and experience and the laboratory rooms and work places must be arranged in such a way to have no contamination of samples as well as the instruments.

May be few minutes to few hours in blood or three to four days in urine are the time to measure them. Exception is cannabis. The drug delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is deposited in the muscles and could be found in the urine up to 12 weeks after the last use in abusers.

To know the long time abuse, hair is the best sample, one cm healthy hair grows in one month and even we can say the time of abuse.

If there are no hairs available, pubic hairs are the last resort, here you can measure the drugs but cannot tell the time of abuse.

It is also possible to analyse drugs of abuse in nails, but it is not possible to tell the time of abuse.

Say always no to drugs; they are not good for our health…

Is it necessary to take folic acid if we plan a baby?

Yes, folic acid is important before you plan because in the very early stages of pregnancy. Folic acid plays a vital role in cell formation and division.

Folic acid should be taken if you plan for a baby because it is important immediately after fertilization. If you take after you know that you are pregnant it is too late.

Folic acid is used in our bodies for cell formation and multiplication, DNA replication and formation of red and white cells. It can significantly minimise the risk of giving birth to a baby with a congenital neural tube defect.

Dark green leafy vegetables, pulses, legumes and nuts are rich in folic acid, but it is always impossible to take the daily intake from these foods because so much we cannot eat. So I recommend folic acid supplementation if you plan for a baby. It is good as a part of vitamin B complex tablet, it is not necessary to buy costly folic acid mono preparations. If you want to buy a vitamin B complex without folic acid, then it is not a real vitamin B complex, then better do not buy it.

Recommended daily intake is 400 micro g, pregnants need 600 micro g. Too much, around 1000 micr g. from food supplemets could cause mild side effects. In this case consult with your doctor nd reduce the amount.

The benefits of folic acid is better than the mild side effects caused by them.