Heroin is a highly addictive opioid derived from morphine. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder, or as a sticky, dark substance known as “black tar” heroin. While often associated with intravenous injection, heroin can be smoked. This route of administration is common for both high-purity powder and black tar forms, and it is popular among new users because it avoids the stigma and risks associated with needle use.
The Mechanics of Administration
The primary method of smoking heroin is referred to as “chasing the dragon.” This process involves placing the heroin, often the black tar variety, onto a piece of aluminum foil. The foil is then heated from below, usually with a lighter, causing the heroin to melt and vaporize.
The user inhales the resulting smoke or vapor through a tube, straw, or rolled piece of paper as the melted substance is moved across the heated surface. This technique is a form of flash vaporization, where the drug is heated just enough to turn into inhalable gas rather than burning and destroying the active compound. Chasing the dragon is the established and most effective way to inhale the drug’s vapors, though other methods exist, such as sprinkling powdered heroin onto a cigarette.
How Smoking Changes the Drug’s Effects
Smoking heroin provides an extremely rapid onset of effects because the drug is absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the vast surface area of the lungs. This pulmonary absorption allows the heroin to bypass the initial metabolic breakdown that occurs with oral ingestion, sending the active substance straight to the brain. Studies on smoked heroin show that blood concentrations peak rapidly, typically within one to five minutes of inhalation, a speed comparable to intravenous injection.
After absorption, heroin is quickly metabolized into 6-monoacetylmorphine and then into morphine, which binds to opioid receptors to produce the drug’s euphoric effects. While the onset is almost as fast as injection, the maximum concentration of heroin and its metabolites is generally lower after inhalation compared to an equivalent intravenous dose. The rapid onset, followed by a quick decline in blood concentration, contributes to the addictive potential and short duration of the desired feeling.
Specific Pulmonary and Respiratory Risks
Smoking heroin introduces unique and severe hazards, primarily related to the respiratory system, that are distinct from those caused by injection. The inhalation of heated heroin vapor and its byproducts can cause direct damage to lung tissue and the airways. This is exacerbated by the presence of adulterants, which may be mixed with the heroin to increase volume.
These adulterants, which can include lactose, starch, talc, or brick dust, are vaporized or burned along with the heroin, and the resulting toxic particulates are inhaled deep into the lungs. Chronic inhalation of these toxic substances can lead to conditions such as chemical pneumonitis and, in some cases, severe early-onset emphysema. Chronic inhaled opiate use has been linked to the development of obstructive pulmonary disease, where lung tissue is destroyed. Furthermore, the practice of deeply inhaling and holding the vapor to enhance absorption may cause barotrauma, contributing to damage deep inside the lung’s delicate structures.