10% of the 2,000,000 people who take heroin every year in the United States actually use the drug habitually (approximately 220,000) One ounce of meth can be made for as little as $150 and sold for $1,500. It is a fact that heroin is particularly addictive because it enters the brain so rapidly. With heroin, the rush is usually accompanied by a warm flushing of the skin, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in the extremities, which may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting and severe itching. Once the heroin is smuggled into America, drug dealers cut, or dilute, the heroin (1 part heroin to 9 to 99 parts dilutor) with sugars, starch, or powdered milk before selling it to addicts. Also, quinine is added to imitate the bitter taste of heroin so the addict cannot tell how much heroin is actually present. Heroin is often sold in single-dose bags of 0.1 gram (0.03 oz.), each costing between $5 and $46 (1992). One pound of diluted heroin yields approximately 4,500 doses. |
