Heroin Addiction

Information on Heroin Addiction Treatment

Drug addiction is a complex brain disease but treatable. It is characterized by compulsive desire for drugs, research, and use that persist despite serious negative consequences. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence. In fact, relapse to drug abuse occurs at rates similar to those of other well-characterized, chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

Shortly after the injection (or inhalation), heroin crosses the blood-brain barrier. In the brain, heroin is converted to morphine and binds rapidly to opioid receptors. Abusers typically report feeling an increase of pleasurable sensation, a rush. " The intensity of the rush is a function of how much drug is taken and how quickly the drug enters the brain and binds to the natural opioid receptors.

Heroin is an illegal drug is highly addictive. It is both the most abused and most rapidly acting opiate. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is usually sold as white or brownish powder or black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin." Although pure heroin is increasingly common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine.

Drug addiction and detoxification by the administration of drugs such as naltrexone and, more recently, buprenorphine has been shown to help drug addicts maintain abstinence and can therefore avoid the need for future drug therapy . While no panacea, advances in pharmacology have made the successful treatment of heroin addiction more promising and humane detoxification. Another ibogaine treatment, although not approved by the FDA and is not available in the U.S. has been shown in recent studies to reduce cravings for heroin and may be one of the most viable therapies in the future.

Most heroin users are not receiving treatment. The most recent data indicate that about 112,000 patients in drug treatment. Barriers exist in both access to maintenance treatment of narcotic drugs and effective treatment, despite the science on the neurobiology of heroin addiction and evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of treatment in reducing consumption of drugs and crime and preventing the spread of HIV and HCV. An important reason for some of these obstacles is that the maintenance treatment of narcotic drugs remains controversial. Science has not yet overcome the stigma of addiction and public perception of the maintenance treatment of narcotic drugs.

treatment of heroin addiction was in the methadone used to treat addiction to opiates for over 30 years. Methadone suppresses withdrawal symptoms of heroin for 24-36 hours. Although the patient remains physically dependent on opioids, the thirst for heroin use is reduced and the highs and lows are blocked. The heroin addiction treatment allows the patient to be free to control behavior, compulsive, and disruptive related to heroin addiction. Although many clinics methadone (methadone use long term) are available, we believe that more efficient use of methadone in treating heroin addiction is in use drugs to assist in phasing out dependence on heroin.