Dear World
Another topic in our Real Truth series
The Real Truth about Heroin
Some of us may not be aware how long this drug has been around and what the production of Heroin has done to the human being.
The following is an extract taken from our forthcoming book titled The Real Truth about Heroin and is another wake up call to say:
Listen up everyone – we have produced a drug that is part of the global Opioid epidemic. Time to get Real and super Honest – our Solutions and War on Drugs has failed. End.
The way we are going about dealing with drugs is not working – so is there Another Way?
Read on… consider, ponder and contemplate on ALL the Questions in this simple, informative presentation.
European Drug Report 2020 – Key Issues
2017 – 5.2 tonnes of heroin seized, mainly due to large individual seizures made in the port of Antwerp (Belgium).
2018 – Heroin seized in the European Union increased to 9.7 tonnes.
2017 – Turkey seized -17.4 tonnes of heroin.
2018 -17.8 tonnes – Largest quantities for a decade.
The potential for increased heroin use and existing harms raise concerns.
Indicators of heroin use continue to suggest an ageing cohort of users with low rates of initiation. In addition, new drug treatment entries associated with heroin have also fallen in many countries. However, a doubling of the volumes of heroin seized within the European Union and increasing volumes seized in Turkey are worrying, as are reports of heroin manufacturing taking place within the European Union. This suggests more vigilance is necessary to detect any signs of increased consumer interest in a drug associated with serious health and social problems.
Heroin Users Entering Treatment
Characteristics
20% female
80% male
24 – mean age at first use
35 – mean age at treatment entry
Frequency of use in the last month
65% – daily
Route of administration
47% – Smoking/Inhaling
34% – Injecting
20,400 – first time entrants
86,400 – previously treated entrants
Seizures
56,000
28.3 tonnes
2018 – 16 tonnes of the heroin precursor chemical acetic anhydride was seized in the European Union and the supply of a further 9 tonnes was stopped before it entered the supply chain.
The discovery of laboratories producing heroin from morphine in Bulgaria, Czechia, Spain and the Netherlands in recent years, together with an increase in morphine and opium seizures suggests some heroin is now manufactured in the European Union.
Opioids, mainly Heroin or its metabolites, often in combination with other substances, are present in the majority of fatal overdoses reported in Europe. (1)
This is bang up to date – a report highlighting some key issues here.
We could champion and make noises to celebrate the great amount of Heroin that is being seized in Europe OR we could consider a very important Question:
How much Heroin is actually reaching its destination under the radar, to the customer who makes the demand?
Are we really and truly anywhere close to being on the front foot when it comes to Heroin?
We may think because less people are coming in for treatment associated with Heroin and double the volumes of Heroin are being seized within the European Union, that things are sorted.
How do we detect signs of increased consumer interest when it comes to Heroin?
How do we behave in life when it comes to talking about Drugs and what it is doing to the human frame?
Do we know beyond doubt it is going on but have no interest in doing anything or saying anything as it makes us uncomfortable?
Do we see it on our streets, in our neighbourhoods, know of it behind closed doors, but we see no point in calling it out and exposing what is going on?
What are Drug Precursors?
Drug precursors are chemicals that are primarily used for the legal production of a wide range of products, like medicine, perfumes, plastics, cosmetics etc.,
However, they can also be misused for the illicit production of drugs such as Heroin, Cocaine or Methamphetamines.
Drug precursor diversion happens when criminals or criminal organizations take these products out of the legal market and use them for illegal purposes.
Acetic anhydride is an important reaction agent for the illicit production of heroin.
1kg of Heroin production requires 1 – 1.5 litre of acetic anhydride (2)
What is Acetic Anhydride?
Acetic anhydride appears as a clear colorless liquid with a strong odour of vinegar.
Corrosive to metals and tissue. (3)
It is used in making plastics, drugs, dyes, perfumes, explosives and aspirin. (4)
Acetic anhydride is very corrosive and a severe skin irritant
RISK: Direct contact with liquid may result in chemical burns.
Allergic skin reactions have been reported in some people.
Severe eye irritation characterised by burning, tearing, swelling and sensitivity to light can occur if acetic anhydride is splashed into the eyes. Burns to the surface of the eyes, scarring, cataracts and temporary or permanent vision loss have been reported. Eye, nose and throat irritation occurs with moderate acetic anhydride vapor levels in the air.
High acetic anhydride vapor exposure may result in nasal ulcers and spasms in the lungs. Breathing difficulties, accumulation of fluid in the lungs and death have been reported following very high acetic anhydride exposures in industrial accidents. Fetal toxicity was observed in laboratory animals following exposure to high air levels of acetic anhydride during pregnancy. At this high exposure level, the mothers showed severe respiratory tract irritation and body weight reduction. (3)
Acetic anhydride is banned in many countries because it is used as the major precursor for the production of heroin and is also used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). (5)
Hello
Can we all wake up and pay attention here?
To keep it very Simple so we all get it – the stuff used to produce perfumes and plastics are used to make Heroin. This is then ingested into the body.
We are talking about illegal Heroin, which you get from the drug dealers.
Research is telling us that a clear liquid called acetic anhydride which smells like vinegar is an important ingredient for illicit Heroin.
For the record this chemical they mix into Heroin is very corrosive.
So, what exactly does that mean – let’s research and expand on this…
If something is corrosive, it means that it causes corrosion, which is a process of corroding – damage slowly by chemical reaction.
In other words, destroy or weaken gradually.
The origin of the word corrode
late Middle English: from Latin corrodere, from cor- (expressing intensive force) + rodere ‘gnaw’. (6)
Check this out – a chemical added to Heroin to supply our drug demand has intensive force that consistently bites (gnaws) to wear it away.
Hello Hello
What on earth is going on and WHY?
Who comes up with this potent poison to sell on and profit from?
WHY is there a demand for this toxic addictive substance on our streets?
This add on to Heroin called acetic anhydride can cause breathing difficulties and a catalogue of other side effects.
It gets worse – this stuff is banned in many countries because it is the major precursor for the production of Heroin but wait for it…
They use this in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. (IED)
What is an Improvised Explosive Device?
An IED is a bomb
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crowded-places-guidance/attack-methodology
YES – you have read correctly
We as humans have produced a toxic substance to ingest that literally erodes the human being from the inside.
We use a chemical for making bombs and that same chemical is added to Heroin.
How serious is that and are we all fully aware of this?
What if we brought some real education into schools like this presentation on Heroin and gave our children some real insight into the harm of what Drugs are, how long they have been around and the damage it does?
References
(1) European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2020). European Drug Report 2020: KEY ISSUES. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg (pp.8, 12 – 13, 16, 22)
(2) (n.d). What are Drug Precursors? European Commission. Retrieved February 8, 2021 from
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/customs-controls/drug-precursors-control/what-are-drug-precursors_en
(3) (2021, February 7). Acetic Anhydride. Pub Chem. Retrieved February 8, 2021 from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Acetic-anhydride
(4) (2005, December). Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet. New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Retrieved February 8, 2021 from
https://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0005.pdf
(5) (2016, January 14). Tanzania in the Spotlight Over ‘Bomb’ Chemical Seized in Pakistan. The East African. Retrieved February 10, 2021 from
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/tanzania-in-the-spotlight-over-bomb-chemical-seized-in-pakistan-1345098
(6) (n.d). Lexico. Retrieved February 27, 2021 from
https://www.lexico.com/definition/corrode
Comments 2
FRANCE 24 News – 6 May 2021
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210506-once-a-stop-on-the-smuggling-route-kenya-becomes-heroin-hub
Once just a passing stop on the trafficking route to Europe, Kenya is becoming a major destination in itself for Heroin, with addiction rising with tonnes of powder passing through East Africa.
A hit costs 120 shillings (USD $1.10) creating a devastating path to dependence for the poor.
Heroin once reached Europe via the ‘Balkan Route’ – smuggled from the poppy fields of Afghanistan overland through the Middle East to capitals in the west.
The Syrian conflict and border controls tightened, as waves of migrants sought refuge in Europe, which forced traffickers to change tack.
They turned to the sea to get around the problem. Heroin was put on ships and sailed across the Indian Ocean to the eastern coast of Africa, and muled northward to Europe.
Mombasa became the main port of arrival. Kenya, a beacon of security in a volatile region, but rife with corruption and lacking oversight, offered smugglers a reliable place to offload their product.
“Narcotraffickers are really identifying Kenya as being one of the most stable countries in the region,” said Amado De Andres, a former regional director for East Africa at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Heroin hauled ashore, estimated by UNODC at 42 tonnes annually, was earmarked for distant markets.
But in time, local interest steadily grew.
Traffickers kept around five tonnes aside for regional sale as demand for heroin flourished into a $150 million business, with most buyers in Kenya.
“Kenya was formerly a transit route, and has increasingly become a destination for heroin,” said Victor Okioma, the head of the government-run National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA).
2018 – Ministry of Health estimated 27,000 people were injecting or smoking heroin in a survey of one-third of Kenya’s counties.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Geneva-based NGO, estimated 55,000 injectors alone, pointing to a higher overall figure.
Heroin is now the second-most consumed drug in the country of nearly 50 million population, behind cannabis, NACADA says.
“Heroin is being consumed even in primary schools” – says Victor Okioma
Kenya created a coastguard in 2018, bolstered container checks at Mombasa’s ports, and began participating in an Interpol led drug detection program at Nairobi International Airport.
Seizures of heroin and morphine have increased tenfold in Africa between 2008 and 2018 and the majority were made in East Africa, according to the UNODC.
But heroin still finds its way to users, many facing increasingly hard times.
“The number of users is growing also because of the situation of Covid. There is depression…People have lost jobs and turned to drugs” says John Kimani, the executive director of a Kenyan harm reduction program.
Kenya has been expanding access to methadone, a heroin substitute, which helps keep withdrawal symptoms at bay and allows addicts to wean off the drug.
The UNODC says there are around 10 clinics serving an estimated 7,000 heroin addicts in Kenya, but they cannot reach all in need.
Dear World
This news story is a confirmation that Heroin is worldwide and whilst in the past we could say it was mainly a drug for adults, it is becoming clearer that the younger generations are seeking this dangerous and toxic mind altering substance.
If we consider what this article has presented about methadone and its highly addictive quality, would it be true to say that our solutions cannot and will not work and it is high time we get to the root cause of WHY anyone chooses to take Heroin in the first place?
Solutions are failing us because they are not getting to the bottom of the problem – the root.
Government UK News – 15 June 2022
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-takes-action-against-deadly-synthetic-opioids
The Home Secretary has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to advise on tightening controls on brorphine and metonitazene, ahead of them being banned in the UK, the Home Office has announced today.
Brophine, known as “purple heroin” and similar to fentanyl can cause life-threatening respiratory depression and arrest. It has been detected in fake pain medication tablets, such as oxycodone and in blood samples of at least 60 fatal and non-fatal overdoses abroad involving users of multiple substances.
Metonitazene is another synthetic opioid, indicated a potency of between 30 and 200 times that of morphine and it has been linked to at least 20 deaths in the U.S.
Currently, these 2 substances are in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which means that whilst supply is unlawful, possession is not.
Question:
If we have a drug that is ‘unlawful’ to supply but to have the same drug in our possession is not – then HOW does the drug come to our possession?
In other words, without a supplier providing the drug, where would we get it from in the first instance?
Is this where the illegal trafficking of drugs takes place because our laws are confusing and not simple to understand?
In other words, is the hole that we are doing our best to seal but it is not happening because we created the hole in the first place?
In this example – we say OK to have purple heroin but not ok to supply it as that’s against the law.