Heroin drug abuse has many negative physiological health effects, ranging from minor issues like digestion problems or respiratory infections, to potentially fatal diseases, like AIDS and hepatitis C. Of course, the effects depend on the method and frequency of use. Some drugs are very addictive, like heroin, while others are less so. Heroin drug abuse or sustained exposure to any drug - even for a short period of time - can cause physiological dependence, which means that when the person stops taking drugs, he/she experiences physical withdrawal symptoms and a craving for the drug.

Heroin abuse also causes brain damage. Heroin abuse affects the way the brain functions and alters its responses to the world. Heroin plugs into receptor cells in the brain that regulate the perception of pain and the experience of pleasure.

At low doses, it triggers a dreamlike state of intoxication with such un-dreamy side effects as constricted pupils, reduced appetite, constipation, low body temperature, itching, sweating, and stupor. At higher doses, these effects increase, but breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure decrease. At very high doses, death results.

How heroin drug abuse will affect your behavior, actions, feelings and motivations is unpredictable. By meddling in the natural ways the brain functions, abusers exposes themselves to risks they may not even have imagined.

The typical heroin user today consumes more heroin than a typical user did just a decade ago, which is not surprising given the higher purity currently available at the street level. Until recently, heroin in the United States almost exclusively was injected either intravenously, subcutaneously (skin-pop- ping), or intramuscularly. Injection is the most practical and efficient way to administer low-purity heroin. The availability of higher purity heroin has meant that users now can snort or smoke the narcotic.

Finally, heroin drug abuse damages the ability of people to act as free and conscious beings, capable of taking action to fulfill their needs.