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Another
form of heroin, "black tar," has also
become increasingly available in the western United
States. The color and consistency of black tar heroin
results from the crude processing methods used to
illicitly manufacture the substance in Mexico. Black
tar heroin may be sticky, like roofing tar or hard
like coal, and its color may vary from dark brown
to black. It is often sold on the street in its
tar-like state at purities ranging from twenty to
eighty percent. This heroin is most frequently dissolved,
diluted and injected.
The typical heroin user today consumes more heroin
than a typical user did just a decade ago, which
is not surprising given the higher purity currently
available at the street level. Until recently, heroin
in the United States almost exclusively was injected
either intravenously, subcutaneous (skin-popping),
or intramuscularly. Injection is the most practical
and efficient way to administer low-purity heroin.
The availability of higher purity heroin has meant
that users now can snort or smoke the narcotic.
Evidence suggests that heroin snorting is widespread
or increasing in those areas of the country where
high-purity heroin is available, generally in the
northeastern United States. This method of administration
may be more appealing to new users because it eliminates
both the fear of acquiring syringe-borne diseases
such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, and the historical
stigma attached to intravenous heroin use. |
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Heroin Abuse
and Addiction
(NIDA Research Report, May 2005)
Heroin
(NIDA InfoFacts, February 2004)
Nonmedical Oxycodone Users: A Comparison with Heroin Users
(The NSDUH Report, January 21, 2005)
Heroin -- Changes In How It Is Used: 1992-2002
(The DASIS Report, December 17, 2004)
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Characteristics of Primary Heroin Injection and Inhalation Admissions: 2002
(The DASIS Report, December 3, 2004)
Heroin
(ONDCP Fact Sheet, June 2003)
Research on Heroin: A Collection of NIDA Notes Articles (NIDA, 2003)
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