Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the dried latex of the Papaver somniferum plant and is mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical-grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown powders sold illegally around the world as heroin are routinely diluted with cutting agents. Black tar heroin is a variable admixture of morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine), which is the result of crude acetylation during clandestine production of street heroin. Heroin is used medically in several countries to relieve pain, such as during childbirth or a heart attack, as well as in opioid replacement therapy.
The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was a United States federal law that regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products. The act was proposed by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New York and was approved on December 17, 1914.
Opium is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The word meconium historically referred to related, weaker preparations made from other parts of the opium poppy or different species of poppies.
Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction is used to decrease negative consequences of recreational drug use and sexual activity without requiring abstinence, recognizing that those unable or unwilling to stop can still make positive change to protect themselves and others.
The Panic in Needle Park is a 1971 American drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn. The screenplay was written by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, adapted from the 1966 novel by James Mills.
The United Kingdom Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 aimed to control the possession and supply of numerous listed drugs and drug-like substances as a controlled substance. The act allowed and regulated the use of some Controlled Drugs by various classes of persons acting in their professional capacity.
Alfred Ray Lindesmith was an Indiana University professor of sociology. He was among the early scholars providing a rigorous and thoughtful account of the nature of addiction. He was a critic of legal prohibitions against addictive drugs, arguing that such prohibitions had adverse societal effects. Lindesmith's work in drug policy and addiction at Indiana U. was an element of progressivism, along with the landmark work of Alfred Kinsey and his associates at The Kinsey Institute, under the supervision of IU President Herman Wells.
A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemented by governments, entities at all levels may have specific policies related to drugs.
Sir Ian Thomas Gilmore DL PRCP is a professor of hepatology and previous president of the Royal College of Physicians of London (PRCP).
John Bishop Harman, FRCS, FRCP was a British physician, president of the Medical Defence Union and chairman of the British National Formulary. He was also notable as a medical expert witness for the defence in the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. His daughter, Harriet Harman, is a senior Labour Party politician.
Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT), or diamorphine-assisted treatment, refers to a type of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) where semi-synthetic heroin is prescribed to opiate addicts who do not benefit from, or cannot tolerate, treatment with one of the established drugs used in opiate replacement therapy such as methadone or buprenorphine. For this group of patients, heroin-assisted treatment has proven superior in improving their social and health situation. Heroin-assisted treatment is fully a part of the national health system in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and Denmark. Additional trials are being carried out in the United Kingdom, Norway, and Belgium.
Drugs considered addictive or dangerous in the United Kingdom are called "controlled substances" and regulated by law. Until 1964 the medical treatment of dependent drug users was separated from the punishment of unregulated use and supply. Under this policy drug use remained low; there was relatively little recreational use and few dependent users, who were prescribed drugs by their doctors as part of their treatment. From 1964 drug use was decreasingly criminalised, with the framework still in place as of 2014 largely determined by the Misuse of Drugs Act.
The Interdepartmental Committee on Drug Addiction, commonly called the Brain Committee after its chairman Sir Russell Brain, was created by the Home Office in 1958 to consider issues related to drugs and drug addiction in the United Kingdom. The committee explored whether or not certain drugs should be considered addictive or habit-forming; examined whether there was a medical need to provide special, including institutional, treatment outside the resources already available, for persons addicted to drugs; and made recommendations, including proposals for administrative measures, to the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland.
In 1924, following concerns about the treatment of addicts by doctors, James Smith Whitaker suggested to the Home Office who suggested to the Ministry of Health Departmental Committee on Morphine and Heroin Addiction be formed under the chairmanship of Sir Humphry Rolleston to "... consider and advise as to the circumstances, if any, in which the supply of morphine and heroin to persons suffering from addiction to those drugs may be regarded as medically advisable, and as to the precautions which it is desirable that medical practitioners administering or prescribing morphine or heroin should adopt for the avoidance of abuse, and to suggest any administrative measures that seem expedient for securing observance of such precautions". The committee is usually referred to as the Rolleston Committee.
In the United Kingdom the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 is an Act which changed drug addiction which up to then was within the medical profession treated as a disease, into a penal offence. The former was the view held by the then Assistant Under Secretary of State, Malcolm Delevingne.
John Petro, called 'The Junkie's Friend', was Polish and came to the UK in 1916. During the War he worked as a doctor with Alexander Fleming giving penicillin to the troops. In 1966, having been run down by a car, he was unable to work and soon got into debt. He was made bankrupt in 1967. He said he was unable to find premises, so he gave out prescriptions for drugs anywhere. He was thought to be selling prescriptions to addicts, which led to him being nicknamed the 'Junkie's Friend'. After pleading guilty at Marylebone Magistrates Court, in February 1968, he was fined £1700.
Cocaine is the second most popular illegal recreational drug in the United States behind cannabis, and the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of cocaine. In 2020, Oregon became the first U.S. state to decriminalize cocaine.
Andre Waismann is an Israeli doctor and medical practitioner, notable for development of the ANR treatment of Opiate addiction. Waismann currently serves as the head of the ANR unit at the Barzilai Medical Center and director at the ANR Clinic in Florida, US.
Drug addiction is defined as out of control use of drugs despite their negative effects. In recent years Jammu and Kashmir in India has seen an exponential increase in the drug use. According to official data shared by the Central Government in Parliament, the number of people affected by drug abuse in Jammu and Kashmir has reached nearly 10 lakh, which is around 8% of the total population of Jammu and Kashmir. On 4 August 2023 the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment has conveyed to the Parliament of India that approximately 13.50 lakh drug users are estimated to be in Jammu and Kashmir, with the majority falling within the age range of 18 to 75 years.
