Heroin is processed from morphine - a substance extracted from the seedpod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or a brown powder. Street names associated with heroin are smack or brown sugar. The most common use of heroin is by injection (called "mainlining" or "shooting"), but in its powder form it can be inhaled through the nose or smoked. Paraphernalia for injecting heroin includes hypodermic needles, small cotton balls used to strain the drug, and water and spoons or bottle caps used for "cooking" or liquefying the heroin. Paraphernalia for inhaling or smoking heroin includes razor blades, straws, rolled paper (or money notes) and pipes. The high from the drug usually lasts from four to six hours

Short term effects appear soon after a single dose and disappear after a few hours. Immediately after taking heroin the person reports a surge of euphoria accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, a dry mouth and heavy extremities. If your child is under the influence of heroin, he or she may have constricted pupils, droopy eyelids, depression, apathy, decreased physical activity and nausea. A frequent user may nod or appear sleepy and repeatedly scratch or touch their face and nose. Larger doses of heroin may induce sleep, vomiting, and shallow breathing. An overdose can cause slow and shallow breathing, clammy skin, convulsions, coma, death.

Long term effects of heroin include infection of the heart lining and valve and liver diseases. It also includes clogging of the blood vessels.