Heroin is a potent and highly-addictive drug. It is well-known that heroin poses severe dangers to the human body with regular use. There is a particularly high risk of overdose when using heroin.
The trepidation people have regarding heroin is well-deserved. However, few people know exactly how addictive heroin is. This leads some people to try heroin believing that doing it once or twice won’t harm them.
On the other hand, there are those who panic after using heroin once or when they find out a loved one has tried it. This can be harmful as addiction can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
How addictive is heroin? Can you become addicted the first time you try it?
What is Heroin and How Does it Work?
To understand how a person becomes addicted to heroin, it is necessary to have an idea of its chemical makeup and what it does to the body.
Heroin is classified as an opioid. It is derived from morphine which itself is extracted from the seed pods of the opium poppy plant. It is classified as a Schedule I drug in many countries, including the United States, and is more powerful than most illegal drugs.
Heroin can appear in various forms, such as white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Users either inject, snort, or smoke the drug, rapidly delivering it to the brain and intensifying its effects. It has a high potential for abuse.
How Heroin Works in the Body
Heroin works by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and triggering the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The person experiences an intense surge of dopamine. This “rush” is described as an immediate and powerful feeling of well-being that encourages repeated use. However, it also slows down essential body functions, such as breathing, which is why overdose is such a serious risk.
hort-term Effects of First Use
When injected or smoked, the effects of heroin can be felt almost immediately. The person using it may experience euphoria, reduced anxiety, pain relief, and a sense of relaxation. But there can be distressing effects as well, including nausea, drowsiness, dry mouth, itching, and constricted pupils.
The euphoric effects come at an additional cost as heroin can immediately begin altering brain chemistry, creating a strong desire to continue using the drug. This does not mean the person becomes addicted instantly, but rather that they are inclined to use heroin again out of desire rather than necessity.
The Process of Physical Addiction
Heroin addiction does not simply occur due to a desire to feel euphoria. Rather, it is a chronic brain disease characterized by the inability to stop using the substance despite harmful consequences. The person becomes physically dependent – with their body becoming reliant on heroin to function normally – and psychologically dependent, with cravings and compulsive behavior driving continued use.
Stages of Addiction to Heroin
Does a person become addicted to heroin the first time they try it? When it comes to physical addiction, this is unlikely. Physical addiction develops through a series of stages that starts with its first use:
- Experimentation: The person may try using the drug from curiosity, peer pressure, or out of the desire to relieve stress or pain. They do not yet feel compelled to continue using it, regardless of how much they may enjoy its effects.
- Regular Use: If the person continues to use heroin on multiple occasions, their body starts to adapt. Their experience becomes less intense than before and they might start using more of the substance more frequently to try achieving the same euphoric effects.
- Dependence: As this continues, the person’s body adapts to the regular presence of heroin and begins to rely on it to function. When the person does not use it, they experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, restlessness, and anxiety.
- Addiction: An addiction disorder is diagnosed when the person uses the drug compulsively despite negative consequences. They are driven by cravings and struggle to stop using heroin even though it causes harm to their health, relationships, or livelihood.
Immediate Heroin Dependence
Considering the above process, it is rare to become physically addicted to heroin after a single use. Addiction is a gradual process that involves psychological cravings and an inability to stop using despite adverse outcomes. However, dependence and tolerance can begin to form from the first few exposures. Furthermore, the intense pleasure associated with first use can lead to repeated attempts to recreate that initial high, which increases the likelihood of developing a full-blown addiction.
Can You Become Psychologically Addicted After the First Try?
Becoming physically addicted to heroin after just one use is highly unlikely, as addiction is typically a process that involves repeated exposure to the substance. But what about the psychological component of addiction?
Using heroin for the first time can indeed trigger strong psychological cravings that make it difficult to resist using the drug again. The initial euphoric “rush” can cause a desire to repeat the experience, leading to further use and an increased risk of addiction. This happens because heroin starts to alter brain chemistry very quickly.
“Chasing the High”
One of the most dangerous psychological aspects of heroin use is the phenomenon known as “chasing the high”. This refers to repeated attempts to replicate the experience of the person’s first time using heroin. Since the brain rapidly adjusts to heroin, even the second use rarely produces the same effects as the initial high. The person then tries to take higher doses or use heroin more often, accelerating the process of developing both physical dependence and addiction.
Risk Factors
That being said, not everyone experiences heroin in the same way. For some people, a single time using heroin is more dangerous than for others.
There are several risk factors for ‘immediate’ heroin addiction, including:
- Genetic Predisposition: Addiction has a genetic aspect, and people with a family history of addiction are more likely to become addicted to heroin in the early stages.
- Mental Health Disorders: People suffering from depression, anxiety, or trauma might try to use heroin to self-medicate. After the initial euphoria, the comedown leaves them feeling worse than before, and they use the drug repeatedly in an attempt to feel better.
- Environmental Factors: Environment plays a role in addiction, too. In communities where drug use is prevalent, a person is more at risk of developing an addiction disorder. People who grew up in a traumatic childhood environment or face high levels of stress in the present are also at a heightened risk.
- Personal Vulnerabilities: A person with low self-esteem and a lack of social support is at a higher risk of addiction as the drug may temporarily seem to alleviate shame and loneliness. Also, people who are prone to impulsive behaviors are more likely to continue using heroin after the first time.
What Research Says About First-Time Heroin Use and Addiction
Research has shown that the likelihood of becoming addicted to heroin after a single use is low but not impossible, as dependence and addiction can develop rapidly. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that about 30% of new heroin users go on to develop dependency within the first year of use.
Another study supported the understanding that factors such as pre-existing mental health conditions and social environment increase the risk of becoming dependent on heroin from initial use.
As such, while you should certainly not assume that a one-time heroin user is going to become addicted, it can be important to seek intervention to help prevent heroin addiction from forming.
Is Once-Off Heroin Use Dangerous?
Even for those who do not become addicted to heroin, using it even once can be very dangerous. Overdose is not only dangerous if a person uses a lot of the substance. Since heroin is a street drug, the person using it is likely unaware of how pure or potent it is, especially when it is cut with other substances. As such, first-time users may accidentally use too much or react to it in an unexpected way. Heroin suppresses the person’s respiratory function, which can result in death if their breathing becomes too slow or stops altogether.
When heroin is injected, there is also the risk of contracting diseases such as HIV or hepatitis through shared needles.
Conclusion
It is very rare to become addicted to heroin on the first occasion it is used. However, for all too many people, this is the start of a path that leads towards addiction. After the first time, intervention therefore still has a high chance of preventing addiction. Without intervention, though, there is a high risk that the person will develop a dependency.
Heroin is one of the most addictive substances in the world. It is also one of the most dangerous. If you or a loved one are thinking of trying heroin, consider the dangers of its usage even if you do not become addicted. You are rolling the dice on the possibility of developing a severe disorder – or even dying by overdose.
Referances:
- JAMA Psychiatry: Risk of Heroin Dependence in Newly Incident Heroin Users. Accessed 26 September 2024.
- MSUToday: About 30 percent of new heroin users become dependent in the first year. Accessed 26 September 2024.
- JAMA: Reported Heroin Use, Use Disorder, and Injection Among Adults in the United States, 2002-2018. Accessed 26 September 2024.
- International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction: Patterns and Predictors of Heroin Use, Remission, and Psychiatric Health Among People with Heroin Dependence. Accessed 26 September 2024.
- NIDA: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Accessed 26 September 2024.
