Then there are illicit drugs, DRUGS PROHIBITED BY LAW. Illicit drugs and some legal dregs normally available  only  by  a  doctor’s  prescription  are manufactured by unscrupulous individuals for sale to underground buyers. These drugs are usually inferior products prepared in unsanitary laboratories for future marketing on our nation’s streets. Some types of drugs that are used legally and illegally are narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and deliriant. These drugs are described as follows: NARCOTICS. -Narcotic drugs include some of the most valuable medicines known, as well as some of the most abused. The term narcotics original] y referred to opium and the drugs made from opium, such as heroin, codeine, and morphine. Opium is obtained from the opium poppy plant; morphine and codeine are extracted from  opium.  Medical  science  has  developed synthesized drugs, called opiates, that have properties similar to heroin, codeine, or morphine. Those drugs are also classified as narcotic drugs. A drug abuser under the influence of narcotics usually appears lethargic and drowsy or displays symptoms of deep intoxication. The pupils of the eyes are often constricted and fail to respond to light. Some abusers may drink paregoric or cough medicines containing narcotics. The person’s breath often has the medicinal odor of these preparations. Other “beginner” narcotic abusers inhale narcotic drugs, such as heroin. They sometimes have traces of this white powder around their nostrils. Constant inhaling of narcotic drugs makes their nostrils red and raw. The drug addict usually injects narcotics directly into a vein. The most common site of the injection is the inner surface of the arm at the elbow. After repeated injections, scar tissue (tracks) develops along the veins. Because of the easy identification of these marks, narcotic abusers usually wear long sleeves at odd times. Females sometimes use makeup to cover the marks. Some males get tattooed at injection sites. Abusers who inject narcotics under unsterile conditions often get blood poisoning. They often contract diseases such as hepatitis and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and tropical diseases such as malaria. Those who inject drugs must keep the equipment they used to inject the drugs handy. Therefore, they may hide the equipment on themselves or in a place where they will have temporary privacy, such as a nearby locker or washroom. Some commonly used instruments and accessories are bent spoons, bottle caps, small balls of cotton, syringes, eyedroppers, and hypodermic needles. Abusers use them all in the injection process. Spoons or bottle caps hold the narcotic in a little water for heating over a match or lighter; cotton falters the narcotic as it is drawn through the needle into a syringe or an eyedropper. Abusers usually keep the used cotton because it retains a small amount of the narcotic. They can then extract it if unable to obtain additional drugs. You can easily identify a bent spoon or bottle cap used to heat the narcotic because it becomes blackened by the heating process. Under federal law, some preparations containing small amounts of narcotic drugs maybe sold without a prescription; for example, cough mixtures containing codeine. Although these preparations are relatively free of addiction potential when used as directed, they have been abused. Opiates. -Natural and synthetic morphine-like drugs derived from opiates are the most effective pain relievers known. Physicians often prescribe them for short-term acute pain resulting from surgery, fractures, burns, and the latter stages of terminal illnesses such as cancer. Since opiates depress the central nervous system, they produce a marked reduction in sensitivity to pain, create drowsiness, and reduce physical activity. Side effects can include nausea and vomiting, constipation, itching, flushing, constriction of pupils, and respiratory depression. Heroin. –Heroin is a white or brown powder known to the addict as H, horse, caballo, white stuff, white lade, Harry, joy powder, doojee, sugar, stag, or smack. It produces an intense euphoria resulting in an easing of fears and relief from worry; however, a state of inactivity bordering on stupor often follows. Since abusers rapidly develop a tolerance for the drug, they must ingest increasingly large quantities to get a “kick.” Abusers ingest heroin in a variety of ways, including sniffing (snorting), smoking, or injecting it into a vein (mainlining) or just under the skin (joy popping). The latter two methods require the abuser to liquify the powder before using it. Heroin is manufactured from morphine and, weight for weight, is up to 10 times more potent than morphine. Users “cut” or dilute pure heroin with other substances such as milk sugar (lactose) or quinine, or both. The drug sold to the addict as heroin usually contains one part heroin plus nine parts or more of other substances. Since those other substances are quite often toxic to the human system, they can result in the death of the user. 3-9