Heroin Addiction Treatment Help-Line: 1-866-851-1619

Heroin Information

Information on heroin is prevalent these days on the Internet. We feel that it is our responsibility to provide viewers with a complete and accurate overview of heroin. Heroin is an illegal opiate drug. It is highly addictive as users find that they have a need for persistent, repeated use of the drug (known as craving) and that their attempts to stop using the drug lead to significant and painful physical withdrawal symptoms. Use of heroin causes physical and psychological problems such as shallow breathing, nausea, panic, insomnia, and a need for increasingly higher doses of the drug to get the same effect.

Heroin is a white to brown powder or gummy substance derived from the opium poppy, is injected directly into a vein, sniffed, or smoked. Typically, heroin is used every four to six hours in doses of 4 to 8 milligrams each. The intense euphoria of heroin lasts only a few hours.

With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity or effect. As higher doses are used over time, physical dependence and addiction develop. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms may occur if use is reduced or stopped.

Heroin can cause feelings of depression, which may last for weeks. Attempts to stop using heroin can fail simply because the withdrawal can be overwhelming, causing the addict to use more heroin in an attempt to overcome these symptoms. This overpowering addiction can cause the the addict to do anything to get heroin.

Heroin, which gained increasing popularity in the 1990's, and is continuing to gain popularity, is a main component in the opiate family and accounted for 39% of drug induced deaths from overdose and 11% of drug abuse-related emergency room episodes in 1992. Heroin use is on the rise across the country. Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. Not only that, but the typical heroin user consumes more of the drug than a typical user did just a decade ago, partly because of the higher purity available today at the street level. Heroin today is five times more pure than it was 10 years ago.

Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

Heroin users today can inject, snort, or smoke the drug. Snorting heroin is increasing in those areas of the country where high purity heroin is available - generally in the northeastern United States. This method of use may be more appealing for two reasons: (1) it eliminates the stigma historically attached to intravenous drug use, and (2) it eliminates the fear of acquiring HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. However, this method is no safer. Between 1988 and 1993, the number of emergency room visits due to snorting or sniffing heroin jumped by 470%.

Heroin is particularly addictive because it enters the brain so rapidly, providing an instant rush. It is a drug which produces profound degrees of tolerance and physical dependence. The body adapts to the presence of the drug, and withdrawal can occur within a few hours after the last time the drug is taken.


What are the warning signs of heroin use?

These symptoms are not, in and of themselves, proof of drug use, since some of the symptoms can be attributable to other causes. However, they are indicators that someone may be using heroin, especially when multiple symptoms arise.

  • Symptoms of use:
    • lethargy
    • drowsiness
    • euphoria
    • nausea
    • constipation
    • constricted pupils
    • slowed breathing
    • blue lips
    • rattling breathing (fluid in the lungs)
    • irregular heartbeat
    • restlessness
    • decreased appetite
    • going back and forth between feeling alert and drowsy
  • Behavior signs:
    • loss of enthusiasm and involvement
    • withdrawal from hobbies and sports
    • reluctance to introduce new friends
    • staying away from home/school for unexplained periods of time
    • irritability and overreaction to criticism
    • loss of interest and deterioration in quality of school work
    • unusual requests for money
    • sudden changes in mood or behavior
    • devious and manipulative behavior
    • lack of pride in personal appearance
    • frequent unexplained phone calls
    • loss of concentration

What are the street terms used for heroin?


Street Term Definition
A-bomb Marijuana cigarette with heroin or opium
AIP Heroin from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan
Al Capone Heroin
Antifreeze Heroin
Aries Heroin
Atom bomb Marijuana mixed with heroin
Aunt Hazel Heroin
Back to back Smoking crack after injecting heroin or heroin used after smoking crack
Bad bundle Inferior quality heroin; damaged heroin
Bad seed Marijuana; Heroin; peyote
Bag Container for drugs; a package of drugs, usually marijuana or heroin; a person's favorite drug
Ball Crack cocaine; Mexican Black Tar heroin
Balloon Heroin supplier; a penny balloon that contains narcotics
Ballot Heroin
Bart Simpson Heroin
Batman Cocaine; heroin
Beast Heroin; LSD
Belushi Combination of cocaine and heroin
Big bag Heroin
Big doodig Heroin
Big H Heroin
Big Harry Heroin
Bin laden Heroin (after September 11)
Bindle Small packet of drug powder; heroin
Bipping Snorting heroin and cocaine, either separately or together
Birdie powder Cocaine; heroin
Black eagle Heroin
Black pearl Heroin
Black stuff Heroin; opium
Black tar Heroin
Blanco (Spanish) Heroin; cocaine
Blank Container of nonnarcotic powder that is sold as heroin
Blows Heroin
Blue bag Heroin
Bomb Crack; heroin; large marijuana cigarette; high potency heroin
Bombido Heroin; injectable amphetamine; depressants
Bombita (Spanish) Heroin; amphetamine; depressants
Bombs away Heroin
Bone Marijuana; $50 piece of crack; high purity heroin
Bonita (Spanish) Heroin
Boy Cocaine; heroin
Bozo Heroin
Brain damage Heroin
Brea (Spanish) Heroin
Brick gum Heroin
Broja Heroin
Brown Marijuana; heroin; methamphetamine
Brown crystal Heroin
Brown rhine Heroin
Brown sugar Heroin
Brown tape Heroin
Bull dog Heroin
Bundle Heroin
Butu Heroin
Caballo (Spanish) Heroin
Caca Heroin
Calbo (Spanish) Heroin
Canade Heroin/marijuana combination
Capital H Heroin
Caps Heroin; psilocybin/psilocin; crack; Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
Carga (Spanish) Heroin
Carne (Spanish) Heroin
Channel swimmer One who injects heroin
Chapopote (Spanish) Heroin
Charley Heroin
Chasing the dragon Crack mixed with heroin
Chasing the tiger To smoke heroin
Chatarra (Spanish) Heroin
Cheese Heroin
Chiba Heroin
Chicle (Spanish) Heroin
Chieva Heroin
China cat High potency heroin
China White Heroin; fentanyl; synthetic heroin
Chinese red Heroin
Chip Heroin
Chipper Occasional user; occasional heroin user; occasional Hispanic user
Chiva/chieva (Spanish) Heroin
Choco-fan Heroin
Chocolate Chip Cookies MDMA combined with heroin or methadone
Chocolate rock Crack smoked together with heroin
Chucks Hunger following withdrawal from heroin
Cigarette paper Packet of heroin
Climax Crack; heroin; isobutyl nitrite; inhalants
Cocofan (Spanish) Brown Tar Heroin
Cook Mix heroin with water; heating heroin to prepare it for injection
Cook down Process in which users liquify heroin in order to inhale it
Cotics Heroin
Cotton brothers Cocaine, heroin and morphine
Courage pills Heroin; depressants
Crank Crack Cocaine; heroin; amphetamine; methamphetamine; methcathinone
Crap Low quality heroin
Crisscrossing The practice of setting up a line of cocaine next to a line of heroin. The user places a straw in each nostril and snorts about half of each line. Then the straws are crossed and the remaining lines are snorted
Crop Low quality heroin
Crown crap Heroin
Cura (Spanish) Heroin
Cut-deck Heroin mixed with powdered milk
Dead on arrival Heroin
Dead president Heroin
Deck 1 to 15 grams of heroin, also known as a bag; packet of drugs
Deuce Heroin; $2 worth of drugs
Diesel Heroin
Dime's worth Amount of heroin to cause death
Dinosaurs Populations of heroin users in their forties and fifties
Dirt Heroin
DOA Crack; heroin; PCP
Dog food Heroin
Dogie Heroin
Doogie/doojee/dugie Heroin
Dooley Heroin
Doosey Heroin
Dope Marijuana; heroin; any other drug
Double breasted dealing Dealing cocaine and heroin together
Dr. Feelgood Heroin
Dragon rock Mixture of heroin and crack
Dreck Heroin
Duji Heroin
Dujra Heroin
Dujre Heroin
Dust Marijuana mixed with various chemicals; cocaine; heroin; PCP
Dusting Adding PCP, heroin, or another drug to marijuana
Dynamite Cocaine mixed with heroin
Dyno Heroin
Dyno-pure Heroin
Eightball Crack mixed with heroin
Eighth Heroin
El diablito (Spanish) Cocaine, marijuana, heroin and PCP
El diablo (Spanish) Cocaine, marijuana and heroin
Estuffa Heroin
Ferry dust Heroin
Five-way Combines snorting of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, ground up flunitrazepam pills, and drinking alcohol
Flamethrowers Cigarette laced with cocaine and heroin; heroin, cocaine and tobacco
Flea powder Low purity heroin
Foil Heroin
Foo foo stuff Heroin; cocaine
Foolish powder Cocaine; heroin
Frisco special Cocaine, heroin, and LSD
Frisco speedball Cocaine, heroin, and a dash of LSD
Frontloading The process of tranferring a drug solution from one syringe to another
Furra Heroin
Galloping horse Heroin
Gallup Heroin
Gamot Heroin
Garbage Inferior quality marijuana; low quality heroin
Gato (Spanish) Heroin
George Heroin
George smack Heroin
Get off houses Private places heroin users can purchase & use heroin for a fee
Getting snotty Using heroin
Girl Cocaine; Crack Cocaine; heroin
Give wings Inject someone or teach someone to inject heroin
Glacines Heroin
Glass Heroin; amphetamine; hypodermic needle; methamphetamine
Goat Heroin
Gold Marijuana; Crack Cocaine; heroin
Golden girl Heroin
Golpe Heroin
Goma (Spanish) Black tar heroin; opium
Good PCP; heroin
Good and plenty Heroin
Good H Heroin
Good Horse Heroin
Goofball Cocaine mixed with heroin; depressants
Gravy Heroin; to inject a drug
H Heroin
H & C Heroin and cocaine
H - bomb Ecstasy (MDMA) mixed with heroin
H Caps Heroin
Hache Heroin
Hairy Heroin
Half load 15 bags (decks) of heroin
Half piece 1/2 ounce of heroin or cocaine
Hard candy Heroin
Hard stuff Heroin; opium
Harry Heroin
Hayron Heroin
Hazel Heroin
Heaven Cocaine; heroin
Heaven dust Cocaine; heroin
Helen Heroin
Hell dust Heroin
Henry Heroin
Hera Heroin
Hero Heroin
Hero of the underworld Heroin
Heroina (Spanish) Heroin
Herone Heroin
Hessle Heroin
Him Heroin
Hitters People who inject others who have hard to find veins in exchange for drugs
Holy terror Heroin
Hombre (Spanish) Heroin
Homicide Heroin cut with scopolamine or strychnine
Hong-yen Heroin in pill form
Horning To inhale cocaine; heroin
Horse Heroin
Horsebite Heroin
Hospital heroin Diluadid
Hot dope Heroin
Hot heroin Heroin poisoned to give to a police informant
HRN Heroin
Hype Heroin addict; an addict; methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
Isda Heroin
Jee gee Heroin
Jerry Springer Heroin
Jive Marijuana; heroin; drugs
Jive doo jee Heroin
Joharito Heroin
Jojee Heroin
Jolly pop Casual user of heroin
Jones Heroin
Joy Heroin
Joy flakes Heroin
Joy powder Cocaine; heroin
Junco Heroin
Junk Cocaine; heroin
Kabayo Heroin
Karachi Heroin, phenobarbital, and methaqualone
La Buena (Spanish) Heroin
LBJ Heroin; LSD; PCP
Lemonade Heroin; poor quality drugs
Little bomb Heroin; amphetamine; depressants
Load 25 bags of heroin
Love boat Marijuana dipped in formaldehyde; PCP; blunts mixed with marijuana and heroin; blunts mixed with marijuana and PCP
Manteca (Spanish) Heroin
Matsakow Heroin
Mayo Cocaine; heroin
Meth speed ball Methamphetamine combined with heroin
Mexican brown Marijuana; heroin
Mexican horse Heroin
Mexican mud Heroin
Mojo Cocaine; heroin
Monkey Cigarette made from cocaine paste and tobacco; drug dependency; heroin
Moonrock Crack mixed with heroin
Moonstone When a dealer shaves a slice of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) into a bag of heroin
Morotgara Heroin
Mortal combat High potency heroin
Mud Heroin; opium
Murder One Heroin and cocaine
Murotugora Heroin
Muzzle Heroin
Nanoo Heroin
New Jack Swing Heroin and morphine
Nice and easy Heroin
Nickel bag $5 worth of drugs; heroin
Nickel deck Heroin
Nod Effects of heroin
Noise Heroin
Nose Cocaine; heroin
Nose drops Liquified heroin
Number 3 Cocaine; heroin
Number 4 Heroin
Number 8 Heroin
Nurse Heroin
Ogoy Heroin
Oil Heroin; PCP
Old garbage Heroin
Old navy Heroin
Old Steve Heroin
On the ball When a dealer shaves a slice of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) into a bag of heroin
One on one house Where cocaine and heroin can be purchased
One plus one sales Selling cocaine and heroin together
One way LSD; heroin
Orange line Heroin
P-dope 20-30% pure heroin
P-funk Crack mixed with PCP; heroin
Pack Marijuana; heroin
Pangonadalot Heroin
Paper A dosage unit of heroin; one-tenth of a gram or less of the drug ice or methamphetamine
Paper boy Heroin peddler
Parachute Crack and PCP smoked; heroin; smokable crack and heroin mixture
Parachute down Use of MDMA after heroin
Peg Heroin
Perfect High Heroin
Perlas (Spanish) Street dealer (heroin)
Pluto Heroin
Poison Heroin; fentanyl
Polo Mixture of heroin and motion sickness drug
Polvo (Spanish) Heroin; PCP
Poppy Heroin
Powder Cocaine HCL; heroin; amphetamine
Predator Heroin
Primo Crack; marijuana mixed with cocaine; crack and heroin; heroin, cocaine and tobacco
Primos Cigarette laced with cocaine and heroin
Pulborn Heroin
Pure Heroin
Quill Cocaine; heroin; methamphetamine
Racehorse charlie Cocaine; heroin
Ragweed Inferior quality marijuana; heroin
Rambo Heroin
Rane Cocaine; heroin
Raw fusion Heroin
Raw hide Heroin
Ready rock Cocaine; crack cocaine; heroin
Red chicken Heroin
Red devil Depressants; PCP; heroin
Red eagle Heroin
Red rock Heroin
Red rock opium Heroin, barbital, strychnine, and caffeine
Red rum Heroin, barbital, strychnine, and caffeine
Red stuff Heroin, barbital, strychnine, and caffeine
Reindeer dust Herion
Rhine Heroin
Rider 5 kilograms of heroin sometimes provided at no cost per 100 kilograms of cocaine imported from Colombia
Sack Heroin
Salt Heroin
Sandwich Two layers of cocaine with a layer of heroin in the middle
Scag Heroin
Scat Heroin
Scate Heroin
Scott Heroin
Scramble Crack cocaine; low purity, adulterated heroin
Second to none Heroin
Serial speedballing Sequencing cocaine, cough syrup, and heroin over a 1-2 day period
Sh*t Heroin
Shmeck/schmeek Heroin
Shoot Heroin
Silk Heroin
Skag Heroin
Skid Heroin
Skunk Marijuana; heroin
Sleeper Heroin; depressants
Slime Heroin
Smack Heroin
Smoke Marijuana; Crack Cocaine; heroin and crack
Smoking gun Heroin and cocaine
Sniffer bag $5 bag of heroin intended for inhalation
Snotty Heroin
Snow Cocaine; heroin; amphetamine
Snowball Cocaine and heroin
Speedball Cocaine mixed with heroin; crack and heroin smoked together; methylphenidate (ritalin) mixed with heroin; amphetamine
Speedballing To shoot up or smoke a mixture of cocaine and heroin; ecstasy mixed with ketamine; the simultaneous use of a stimulant with a depressant
Spider Heroin
Spider blue Heroin
Spike Heroin cut with scopolamine or strychnine; to inject a drug; needle; hypodermic needle
Spoon 1/16 ounce of heroin; paraphernalia used to prepare heroin for injection
Stacks Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) adulterated with heroin or crack
Stuff Heroin
Sugar Cocaine; Crack cocaine; heroin; LSD
Sweet dreams Heroin
Sweet Jesus Heroin
Sweet stuff Cocaine; heroin
T.N.T. Heroin; fentanyl
Tar Crack and heroin smoked together; heroin; opium
Taste Heroin; small sample of drugs
Tecata (Spanish) Heroin
Tecatos Hispanic heroin addict
Thanie Heroin
The beast Heroin
The witch Heroin
Thing Cocaine; Crack Cocaine; heroin; main drug interest at the momement.
Thunder Heroin
Tigre (Spanish) Heroin
Tigre Blanco (Spanish) Heroin
Tigre del Norte (Spanish) Heroin
Tits Black tar heroin
Tongs Heroin
Tootsie roll Heroin
Top drool Heroin
Train Heroin
Twin towers Heroin (after September 11)
Twists Small plastic bags of heroin secured with a twist tie
Vidrio (Spanish) Heroin
Whack Crack Cocaine; heroin and PCP; Crack/PCP mixture or marijuana laced with insecticides
White Heroin; amphetamine
White boy Heroin; powder cocaine
White dragon Powder cocaine; heroin
White girl Cocaine; heroin
White horse Cocaine; heroin
White junk Heroin
White lady Cocaine; heroin
White nurse Heroin
White stuff Heroin
Whiz bang Cocaine; Heroin and cocaine
Wicked A potent brand of heroin
Wings Cocaine; heroin
Witch Cocaine; heroin
Witch hazel Heroin
Woola blunt Marijuana and heroin combination
Woolie Marijuana and heroin combination
WTC Heroin (after September 11)
Z 1 ounce of heroin
Zoquete (Spanish) Heroin
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