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DrugFreeAZKids.org understands the importance of communicating with your children. We want to share the necessary tools and information with you for starting these important conversations. Talking with your child about the dangers of drugs can reduce the chance of them using by up to 50 percent. This is why we are bringing you a series of regular blog posts, each focusing on a specific drug. This series will cover the drug’s common names, impacts and the important details parents should know.
Today’s post in our 411 Drug Series examines Heroin. In Arizona, heroin-related deaths have nearly doubled from 2003 to 2013, making this growing problem in Arizona an epidemic.
What is it and what does it look like?
Heroin is an opiate drug that can be smoked, snorted, or heated into a liquid and injected.
Other street names?
o Smack
o Dope
o Junk
o Big H
o Mud
o Horse
o Brown Sugar
o Black Tar
What are the short and long-term effects?
o Constricted pupils and impaired night vision
o Vomiting after first use and at high doses
o Respiratory failure
o Dry itching skin and skin infections
o Increased risk of exposure to HIV, hepatitis and infectious diseases if injected
o Death
What every parent should know:
Heroin paraphernalia can include burnt spoons or plastic scoops, needles, razor blades, straws, pipes, plastic tubing, rolled-up dollar bills, eyedroppers and aluminum foil.
DrugFreeAZKids.org’s mission is to provide parents with the information they need to educate their kids about dangerous substances. In addition to this blog series, we offer other valuable tools, such as webinars and evidence-based workshops to help parents raise healthy, drug-free children. To learn more about how to prevent drug and alcohol use by teens, visit DrugFreeAZKids.org.
