Heroin, just like most other opiates, may cause many long-term complications other than just dependence and withdrawals. The biggest risk is death by overdose, which is often caused by varying amounts of purity which hit the street. If a user takes their “normal dose” not realizing the purity of the heroin is actually stronger, then the body will not be able to tolerate the increase and an overdose will ensue. Heroin can be ingested into the body a number of different ways. But eventually most users will turn to inject the drug intravenously to achieve a more powerful high. The use of non-sterile needles and syringes or other related equipment may lead to:

• A heightened risk of HIV or other blood-borne pathogens such as hepatitis.
• Contraction of bacterial or fungal endocarditis and possibly venous sclerosis.
• The formation of abscesses.
• Poisoning from “cutting agents” and other contaminants used to dilute the heroin.
• Physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms once your body does get its normal dose of heroin.
• Decreased kidney function (which could be the result of unknown cutting agents or infectious diseases contracted from sharing needles.

The two prevalent techniques for injecting heroin are typically referred to as “direct deposit”, which refers to directly injecting the heroin into a vein and “skin-popping”, which refers to injecting the heroin underneath the skin normally into fatty tissue or muscle. Each way to inject heroin can lead to different health risks. Skin-popping often results in abscesses, while direct inject more often leads to fatal overdoses and also to Hepatitis C and HIV. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, up to 75% of new AIDS cases among women and children are directly or indirectly a consequence of drug use by injection. To address the growing problem of heroin-related health complications, many countries and local governments have begun funding programs that supply sterile needles to people who inject illegal drugs. However, the United States federal government does not operate needle exchanges, although some state and local governments support the idea. As New Jersey and our country continue to address the growing problem, we can expect our laws and policies to also change with the times.