Heroin

History

The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) has been cultivated and used by humans for various reasons since ancient times. This poppy produces several varieties of opiates, including opium, morphine, and heroin. Prior to the U.S. Civil War, opium had long been available to doctors in the United States and was marketed and used as a painkiller. In 1803 morphine, another derivative of the opium poppy, was discovered and also became widely used by the medical profession as a painkiller. It became particularly popular with the advent of the hypodermic syringe in 1853. However, it was soon discovered that morphine had a high potential for addiction. In fact, morphine addiction became known as the “army disease.” In 1874 Felix Hoffman, a chemist at the [Page 357]German Bayer Company in Eberfeld, Germany, discovered a chemical process that converted morphine into a new substance. The chemist named this new substance heroisch, the German word for heroic, because of the drug's perceived effects on the user. In the United States, the drug came to be known as heroin. In 1898 the Bayer Company began to market heroin as a new pain medicine, cough suppressant, and substitute for morphine. Heroin was touted as a drug with all the virtues of morphine without the dangers of addiction. In fact, heroin was even marketed as a cure for morphine addiction. However, it was soon discovered that heroin was an even more powerful and addictive drug than morphine and its use became linked by the media to acts of violence, particularly among ethnic and racial minorities. These factors led to the passage of legislation that would eventually make heroin an illegal drug.

Production

Most of the current illicit heroin supply comes from an area in southwest Asia known as the Golden Crescent, specifically from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Other areas of production include the “Golden Triangle” in southeast Asia, particularly in Myanmar, and Mexico and Colombia within Latin America. To produce heroin, harvesters will drain the sap from opium poppies and then boil the sap until it produces a sticky, gum-like substance. This product is then treated in a water base along with chemicals such as activated charcoal, hydrochloric acid, ammonium chloride, and lime. This treatment process causes the byproduct morphine to become separated from the gum substance. The product is then allowed to dry and is shaped into bricks.

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