How Heroin Is Injected and Other Ways It’s Taken

Smoking and snorting heroin has become more common, but people still inject the drug using a needle and syringe. The reason people might prefer this method of using heroin, even though it’s more dangerous, is because when you directly inject heroin the high is more powerful and occurs more quickly. When people begin snorting or smoking heroin, they often ultimately end up shooting it because they develop a tolerance and want to find different ways to continue achieving a high. With intramuscular heroin injection, peak effects usually occur within five to eight minute after taking the drug and with intravenous heroin use, it occurs with a few seconds.

If someone is taking heroin that’s cut with a stronger drug or a harmful toxin or chemical, it can be dangerous and potentially fatal. People who “shoot up” heroin, as it’s typically referred to, are also at risk of contracting HIV and other bloodborne diseases if they share needles. Since this is one of the primary ways that heroin is injected, many local organizations and governments have started providing people addicted to heroin with clean needles, but that doesn’t mean they’re taking advantage of these programs.

If someone is injecting heroin regularly, their body’s functionality and muscle strength will weaken and holes can appear in the skin. Also, if someone is injecting poor quality heroin, it can leave behind residue in blood vessels. Black tar heroin is particularly dangerous and when someone injects it, it can destroy muscle, organ and skin tissue.

Heroin smoke or vapors may also be inhaled. Someone who uses heroin by inhaling it typically heats the heroin and then inhales the smoke and fumes it creates. People incorrectly feel that if they snort or smoke heroin, it’s less dangerous and while there might not be the risks of needles, there are still inherent risks with using this drug, ranging from addiction to overdose.