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To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:05:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 108807

From the first URL: Most persistent users of heroin or other narcotics follow a classic progression from inhaling the drug to injecting it subcutaneously and then to injecting it intravenously; each of these stages usually brings a greater likelihood of addiction with it. With increasing use of the drug, euphoria and relaxation eventually give way to drug tolerance and physical dependence; the addict must use progressively larger doses to achieve the same pleasurable effects, and once the drug wears off he must endure painful symptoms of physical and psychological withdrawal. An overdose of narcotics can severely depress the central nervous system, with respiratory failure and death as a consequence.

To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:07:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 108807

From the second URL: TOLERANCE AND DEPENDENCE With regular use, tolerance develops to many of the desired effects of the opioids. This means the user must use more of the drug to achieve the same intensity of effect. Chronic users may also become psychologically and physically dependent on opioids. Psychological dependence exists when a drug is so central to a person's thoughts, emotions, and activities that the need to continue its use becomes a craving or compulsion. With physical dependence, the body has adapted to the presence of the drug, and withdrawal symptoms occur if use of the drug is reduced or stopped abruptly. Some users take heroin on an occasional basis, thus avoiding physical dependence. Withdrawal from opioids, which in regular users may occur as early as a few hours after the last administration, produces uneasiness, yawning, tears, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, goose bumps, and runny nose. These symptoms are accompanied by a craving for the drug. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after a week. Some bodily functions, however, do not return to normal levels for as long as six months. Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health has occasionally been fatal. Opioid withdrawal, however, is much less dangerous to life than alcohol and barbiturate withdrawl.

To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:11:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 108807

Third URL: Heroin, a preparation synthesized from morphine, was introduced in 1898 as a cough suppressant and nonaddictive substitute for morphine. The addictive potential of heroin, however, was soon recognized, and its use was prohibited in the United States, even in medical practice. Users report that heroin produces a "rush" or "high" immediately after being taken. It also produces a state of profound indifference and may increase energy. Opioids produce different effects under different circumstances. The drug user's past experience and expectations have some influence, as does the method of administering the drug (by injection, ingestion, or inhalation). Symptoms of withdrawal from opioids include kicking movements in the legs, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, sweating, cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.

To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:12:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 108807

4th URL: Opioid Dependence And Withdrawal Opioids have specific withdrawal and dependence characteristics common to all opioids, varying according to the specific drug. All opioids cause both physical and psychological dependence with prolonged use. Depending on the opioid in question withdrawal can become evident after continued use in as little time as 2 weeks or as long as 2 months. Withdrawal is commonly overstated by media and tends to be similar to bad case of flu. This is due to the fact that most opioid users don't tend to be able to acquire enough drug to result in severe withdrawal. It must be noted that physical symptoms may be similar to flu, psychological symptoms can be quite painful. Depression, mood swings, hypersensitivity to pain are some common symptoms. Opioid withdrawal DOES NOT endanger life as does alcohol and other depressant withdrawal. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:22:00 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 108807

5th URL: The uninterrupted failure of narcotic addiction "cures" from 1856 to date suggests an altogether new definition of an addicting drug-an operational definition. Let us here formulate such a fresh definition, at least roughly. An addicting drug is one that most users continue to take even though they want to stop, decide to stop, try to stop, and actually succeed in stopping for days, weeks, months, or even years. It is a drug for which men and women will prostitute themselves. It is a drug to which most users return after treatment at Lexington, at the California Rehabilitation Center, at the New York State and City centers, and at Synanon, Daytop, Phoenix House, or Liberty Park Village. It is a drug which most users continue to use despite the threat of long term imprisonment for its use and to which they promptly return after experiencing long-term imprisonment. The reasons why opiates produce this curious behavior need not be specified; they may be psychological, sociological, or biochemical. But this is the kind of behavior these drugs evoke. One major virtue of our operational definition is that it specifies precisely what young people should be concerned about, and what parents and public officials should be concerned about. The major reason for not taking opiates is that they are addicting-enslaving-in the ways specified in the definition. If society belittles this enslavement by falsely stressing the curability of heroin addiction, as it was doing throughout the 1960s and as it continues to do, then it should not be surprised that more and more young people turn to heroin. It is society, after all, that has told them that addiction is only temporary.

To: Neocon who wrote (76927)	4/5/2000 10:24:00 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

6th URL: Long-term use of opioids causes tolerance to develop so that in order to achieve the same degree of euphoria, larger and larger doses must be taken. When people have been off the drug for some time their tolerance decreases and a common cause of death results from a user taking the same amount of drug used before they stopped or cut down. When high doses have been taken for several weeks, a sudden withdrawal causes symptoms of discomfort similar to flu. These include aches, sweating and chills, tremor, sneezing and yawning and muscular spasms, all or some of which usually commence between 8 and 24 hours after the last dose of heroin. Although these effects usually fade within 7 to 10 days, feelings of weakness and loss of well being can last for several months. Physical dependence is easier to overcome than psychological dependence, which some long-term users develop, although dependence of any kind is not a certainty. Some people can use heroin on an occasional basis and not become addicted.