Exactly how addictive is Heroin?
Heroin works on the brain’s reward system. The point of the reward system is to reinforce behaviors that are good for survival (personally or for the species). So, for instance, the body will release it own opiates (known as endorphins) after sex because that behavior is essential for the continuation of the species. But opiates do more than just provide a temporary high, they have a direct influence on how the brain forms new permanent connections. So if you keep indulging in the behavior that causes the endorphins to be released your brain will form permanent physical connection between neurons and that cements that behavior without any further need for reward to encourage the behavior. Heroin fakes the reward and only encourages the taking of more heroin. If you take it regularly for long enough it will make physical changes to your brain and that is why it is so difficult to kick. However if you only use it only occasionally it might not get to that point. I’m not sure if snorting
Don’t go there. It’s the most lethal drug, and probably, when all is said and done, the most addictive. It killed my brother and it’s also killed several of my friends and acquaintances over the years. The only other drug death I’ve ever seen among my friends was one who OD’d on crack. If you use it? Well, first of all, watch out, because you can OD the first time you do it — you have no tolerance. My friend Cherina had two of her friends die that way in college. So make sure you’re with someone who knows what the **** they’re doing to reduce that risk. There are no guidelines I can give here, because the strength of street Heroin varies, so what you think is an OK dose can be a lethal one. So you need someone experienced. If you don’t die, I’d say there’s about a 50% chance that you’ll be OK, and about a 50% chance that you’ll keep using it, which means that in a couple of days you’ll be a junkie, or, perhaps you’ll use it intermittently and become a junkie that way. That usually las
