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Whoever has written this page needs to re-evaluate his or her "scientific" background. Much of the information is ill-conceived, incomplete, or just plain WRONG. Take, for instance, the the last sentence- where the author says that herion addiction can be "easily relieved" with acupuncture.

I bet the person writing this article owns an acupuncture clinic or something. Heroin is very similar to endorphins, the natural opiates of the body, but less potent. The body responds by stopping the production of endorphins after heroin consumption. Endorphins are regularly released in the brain and nerves to attenuate pain. The body's response in stopping endorphin production results in the slighest pains not being attenuated by the brain and therefore becoming an horrible agony. This is what causes the horrible withdrawal symptoms, although they can be easily relieved with the help of acupuncture.

That stuff was added by ,now banned user:Susan Mason aka Lir etc.. Mintguy 12:26, 16 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Acupuncture has been proven to release endorphins... http://opioids.com/acupuncture/endorphin.html (follow on relavent links) - jungboho

Be bold in updating. If you think there are things that need to be changed, please change them. However, be sure to follow the Wikipedia policy of neutral point of view.

Isn't the word "Heroin" a trade mark? -- Zoe

It started out as one, but I believe the Bayer Company has let it lapse. --Infrogmation 03:18 15 Jun 2003 (UTC)

This article repeats a claim I've seen elsewhere, that opioid withdrawal is caused by the opioid having suppressed natural endorphin production. If this were true, then administering an opioid antagonist like Narcan should trigger opioid withdrawal symptoms in all persons, not just those with opioid dependence. Narcan *does* block natural endorphins, such as are released by alcohol consumption or under stress. But Narcan has little or no effect on non-stressed, non-opioid-dependent persons, and this property is commonly used as a definitive clinical test for opioid dependence. Even if endorphin suppression is a factor, this would seem to be a minor mechanism compared with other mechanisms such as receptor up- and down-regulation in the parts of the brain indirectly affected by opioid use, such as the nucleus accumbens, the brain's "pleasure center". Does anyone have more authoritative information? User:Karn 27 Mar 2004

The paragraph beginning 'Heroin is chemically very similar to endorphins...' is not good. Heroin is chemically totally unlike endorphins which are peptides. I'm not convinced about the other points about withdrawal either but I don't know either way. I started revising that paragraph but it seemed like I was practically removing it. I realise it has been modified before but it is an awful paragraph. Perhaps the points raised can be blended elsewhere in the section. Any thoughts?

Contents

1 NPOV comment 2 NIN - Hurt? 3 Heroin-in-lollipops pic 4 Happiness is a warm gun 5 Confusion over di / 3 / tetra, and "we now make" 5.1 David Bowie

NPOV comment

While heroin is a dangerous drug, since it is a central nervous system depressant, it is the lack of available quality information, lack of quality control and infected syringes, which can transmit diseases such as AIDS, and hepatitis that cause the most trouble for heroin users. The money which can be made in supplying heroin addicts encourages a continuous supply, and the need to finance purchases generates considerable property crime.

Critics of drug prohibition contend that since addiction can be treated, primarily by counseling and methadone substitution, most of the suffering surrounding heroin is indirectly caused by prohibition, not by the drug itself. Others argue that legalising drug use, to the level of tobacco and alcohol, will eliminate the organized crime associated with it.

This section is POV, has no counterpoint, and is segued into from a more factual (presumably) topic. I moved the text here to let someone else deal with it. 192.249.47.11 16:41, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)

This article has an anti-Americo-centric point of view when using phrases like "Unfortunately, the US public and government has not yet accepted the concept of clean needle exchanges to reduce heroin related deaths."

This phrase points out the author's bias towards needle exchange programs and singles out the US its lack of such programs. I would suggest that the fairest way to treat this topic would be a separate article on needle exchange, including a comparison of the needle exchange policies of various countries.

--Carej 13:54, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

The offending sentence has been removed. What is the justification for this page having "disputed neutrality"? -- AdamH 16:04, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

If treatments are to be discussed, I think opiod antagonist treatments like naltrexone should be talked about

NIN - Hurt?

In regards to the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" in the list of "Heroin inspired artistic works", is there any evidence to suggest the song has anything to do with heroin? I'm a fairly large fan of the band and have never heard H come up at all.

Is there any evidence to prove me wrong?

Cheers

MrHate 06:53, Sep 22, 2004 (UTC)

I guess not, I'll remove it MrHate

The needle tears a hole / The old familiar sting is almost certainly a reference to heroin. It implies habitual intravenous drug use, and the remainder of the song suggests that the substance of choice in this case is heroin.

--Dachannien 00:58, 11 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Heroin-in-lollipops pic

Does this pic belong in this article: Image:Lollipops with h.jpg? The image is already in smuggling and Drug Enforcement Administration, but I was wondering if it should be placed here too? – Quadell ^{(talk) (help)}[[]] 20:14, Oct 15, 2004 (UTC)

Happiness is a warm gun

Tells about making love, not shooting heroin. --Tmh 23:16, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Confusion over di / 3 / tetra, and "we now make"

The first paragraph of "History" doesn't make sense, and I don't have the chemical knowledge to fix it. This section is very unclear, and doesn't even make grammatical sense:

He boiled anhydrous morphine alkaloid with acetic anhydride over a stove for several hours and produced a compound that he called tetra acetyl morphine (morphine with 3 acetyl groups, a different, weaker form of acetylated morphine.) we now make diacetylmorphine, a more potent form of acetylated morphine. The compound was sent to F.M. Pierce of Owens College, Manchester, for analysis. He reported the following to Wright.

Even given the factor of two that can be off in acetyl prefixes (eg tetraacetyl- could be the same thing as diacetyl-), where does the 3 come in? And the "we now make" sounds completely wrong. --AlexChurchill 18:01, Nov 11, 2004 (UTC)

CRA Wright called it 'tetra-acetylmorphine', but it was a mistake. Axl 14:57, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

David Bowie

I don't see what "Space Oddity" or "China Girl" have to do with heroin, even if China Girl is a name for heroin. not familiar with other song 67.124.101.93 03:12, 11 Dec 2004 (UTC)