What Do Poppies Have To Do With Heroin

Heroin is synthesized from morphine, which is synthesized from opium and the compound of morphine is combined with ascetic acid or acetic anhydride and it is also mixed with sodium bicarbonate and are usually in the form of bricks. During the process these bricks are placed in water, allowing the particles the particles to settle and then they are left to dry. These particles are treated with hydrochloric acid and when this process is finished it produces heroin.

This is a form of pure heroin and what will be found today that is purchased on the streets is not pure heroin is mixed or cut with any number of water-soluble substances that include substances like sugar, acetaminophen, tranquilizers, baking soda, powdered milk, corn starch or talcum powder. The reason that this is done it so that it can stretch the pure heroin and allow the person selling it to make more money. In its pure form a person who is used to taking the cut heroin could die as a result of using pure heroin. Once heroin is cut because of the way it is done there is no accurate percentage of the amount of heroin in a dose, it can range from 20% purity to 70%.

In earlier centuries heroin was used for medicinal purposes as well as recreational purposes, many physicians relied on heroin for treating chronic pain and other ailments without realizing the addictive properties in the substance.