Pure Heroin: What To Know About Heroin Purity

Due to the fact that the illicit drug market operates with zero quality control or regulatory oversight, the heroin sold on the street can contain virtually anything, and the person buying it has no reliable way to know what they’re taking, how potent it is, or what other substances have been added to it.

Heroin that makes it to American streets has typically passed through multiple hands on its way from production sites in South America, Mexico, Pakistan, or Turkey, with cutting agents and adulterants added at various stages to increase bulk, enhance effects, or boost profit margins. The result is an unpredictable product that has become even more dangerous in recent years, as illicitly manufactured fentanyl has become one of the most common adulterants in heroin drugs.

Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin, and its presence in a batch can turn what would otherwise be a manageable dose into a fatal one.

How Cutting Agents Reduce Heroin Purity

White powder heroin is considered the most pure form of the drug and has a bitter taste. Brown heroin (a dark brown substance) or black tar heroin are more processed and less pure forms of heroin. Street heroin that has been cut with other fillers or additives, or refined into a different form, may contain harmful products or other drugs.

Below are some of the contaminants commonly found in street heroin.

Impurities

Several substances may be present in heroin as byproducts of how the drug was produced. For instance, opiate alkaloids may be contained in powdered heroin due to the refining process of creating heroin from opium.

Adulterants

Adulterants are drugs added to heroin for the purpose of mimicking or enhancing the effects of heroin. Some examples include caffeine, cocaine, fentanyl, and ephedrine.

Diluents

These substances are mainly used as bulking agents to increase bulk size and profits for drug dealers. These cutting agents include sugar, lactose, and other non-toxic substances.

Why Heroin Is Cut With Other Substances

The terms adulterants and diluents are used for substances added to heroin in addition to its active ingredients. These substances may lead to serious health consequences and fatal overdoses.

Common reasons for these substances being added to heroin include:

• dilution or bulking of heroin (sugar, starch, baking soda)
• enhancing or mimicking the pharmacological effects of heroin (fentanyl in heroin)
• counteracting the effects of the substance of abuse (caffeine in heroin)

The impurities contained in heroin can increase an individual’s risk of experiencing side effects, addiction, or overdose caused by unpredictable drug strength.

Side Effects Of Heroin Misuse

Heroin use creates a euphoric and sedative high. This causes heavy drowsiness, cognitive impairment, and relaxation, similar to abuse of prescription opioids like oxycodone and codeine.

Some side effects of heroin use include:

• decreased breathing and heart rate
• flushing
• nausea
• increased appetite
• slow reflexes
• decreased pain
• constipation
• inability to concentrate
• relaxation or drowsiness
• overdose
• coma
• death
• withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea and cravings

Additional side effects may be caused due to the way a person misuses heroin, such as through smoking or injection drug use. Side effects caused by intravenous heroin injection may include abscesses, exposure to infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B and HIV, vein, skin, and muscular damage, blood infections.

How Impure Heroin Affects A Heroin Overdose

When heroin overdoses occur, they affect the heart and breathing rate so that emergency medical intervention is necessary in order to survive. The presence of adulterants such as fentanyl contained in impure heroin mixtures can affect survival rates. For example, when heroin includes fentanyl, it may have several separate chemical influences on a person’s system.

In general, overdoses are treated with the opioid antagonist, naloxone. This medication blocks heroin from binding to opioid receptors in the brain. However, adulterants may block the effects of naloxone and make overdose deaths more difficult to avert.

Getting Treatment For Heroin Addiction

Heroin is a highly addictive drug that contains several additional substances that may cause severe side effects, physical dependence, addiction, and lead to overdose. Treatment for heroin drug use or addiction may involve qualified medical advice, and includes methadone medication to support opiate withdrawal.

If you or a loved one has a heroin addiction, or if you have questions about the rehab programs available for this substance use disorder, browse our directory or reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).