• The drug, which is not found in nature, was created by scientists looking for a non-addictive substitute for morphine. The result — heroin — is a drug with four times the pain-relieving effect and several times the addictive potential.

• Withdrawal can begin within a few hours after last use in regular abusers. Withdrawal symptoms include drug craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea and vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps, kicking movements and other symptoms.

• Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and subside after about a week.

• Sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal.

They call it Junk, Horse, Smack, H, Powder, White Stuff, Sugar, Dope, Scag, Black Tar and China White.Heroin addicts smoke, snort or inject the drug.Heroin users put themselves at risk for contracting HIV, AIDS, hepatitis B and C, respiratory failure and heart attack.Heroin’s purity is uncertain, increasing the risk of overdose. Heroin purity can range from 20 to 95 percent, increasing the risk of overdose or death.Side effects include constricted pupils, reduced appetite, constipation, low body temperature, itching, sweating and stupor. At higher doses, your breathing, heart rate and blood pressure decrease.