Heroin psychological effects

There are some reports by users that methadone use may cause hallucinations. While it is well known that heroin users often describe a dream-like mental state when using heroin, this effect is rarely seen in people who use methadone. The reason behind this is probably due to methadone s slower onset of action and reduced level of intensity. Likewise, while users of heroin and other harder narcotics sometimes report feelings of acute anxiety, especially when first using the drug, users of methadone rarely report these psychological effects. 

The overall effect that heroin has is to depress the body s central nervous system. However, other short-term effects include a brief euphoria, reduced pain, sedation/drowsiness, reduced anxiety, and reduced respiration. Because of its potent nature, addiction to heroin occurs rapidly. Once addicted, the user craves heroin about five hours after their last injection. The withdrawal symptoms of heroin are also acute and occur about 10 hours after the last use. Withdrawal symptoms progress in intensity and severity over the next three days and only slowly subside after about 10 days. Ultimately, the user is left with a psychological addiction that may take months or even years to overcome. 

In Table 1.3 I have included the areas of physical and psychological health, which often do not feature in reviews. Methadone has significant adverse effects, as discussed below, and by no means do all patients report subjective improvements in health on the drug, as opposed to when taking street heroin or other opiates. However, if methadone treatment is adhered to, there is normalization of various circadian rhythms and endocrine effects... 

At the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, it has been noted that some of the clients self-medicated their hallucinogenic-precipitated psychotic episodes with amphetamines. ° Often, this self-medication with amphetamines resulted in the development of amphetamine abuse, followed by secondary heroin, barbiturate, or alcohol abuse patterns, to ameliorate the side effects of the amphetamines. Thus, in certain patients, chronic psychological problems induced by LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs led to complicated patterns of polydrug abuse that required additional treatment approaches. ... 

Psychological and physical dependence may occur. Tolerance may develop, resulting in the need for higher and more frequent dosing. Some oral pentazocine preparations also contain naloxone (an opioid antagonist) to reduce parenteral abuse. Naloxone does not affect the efficacy of pentazocine administered by the oral route naloxone does inhibit pentazocine s opioid effect if tablets are solubilized and injected. Pentazocine may be abused as a heroin alternative or in combination with other drugs. The most publicized combination was T s and Blues ... 

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