KNOT HEART - Almeida Theatre

Heroin is an illegal opiate drug, which is made from the opium poppy. It has anumber of physically and psychologically addictive properties that can lead toserious substance misuse. It is a serious criminal offence to both possess andto buy or sell heroin.There are an estimated 300,000 users of heroin in the UK. Other names for heroin include: brown,black tar, china white, dust, horse, junk, scag, smack and Mexican mud.Heroin is an opiate drug, an extract of opium. Opium is the dried 'milk' of the opium poppy Papaversomniferum, and it contains the two strong narcotic painkillers, or opiate analgesics, morphine andcodeine. Heroin’s scientific name is diamorphine, and is known as a semi-synthetic, because, whilst itdoesn't occur naturally in opium, it can be made from morphine.HeroinThe opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia (the region now made up of parts of modernday Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey) as long ago as 3400 BCE. In the western world, as recently as 1898through to 1910 Heroin was marketed as a medicine as a non-addictive morphine substitute andcough suppressant. Although it can still be used in some countries for medicinal purposes, much haschanged since the turn of the last century and Heroin is now classed as a controlled drug owing to itshighly addictive properties and both the short and long term physical offence of taking the drug.Street deal of heroin normally costs around £20 to £30 a street deal with users normally having oneto two deals a day as a minimum, the normal heroin habit can cost up to around £100 a day. Inrelation to supply, heroin dealing is a big business; the drug is now said to command £40,000 a kilo -double the price of 2010.Heroin is most commonly injected however highpurity heroin can also be snorted or smoked. Heroincan often be heated, normally on tin foil and theninhaled; this process if often referred to as 'chasingthe dragon'.Heroin affects the body by slowing down itsfunctioning and reducing psychical and psychologicalpain. Most people feel a rush of a buzz when theyfirst take it as well as a feeling of warmth and wellbeing as well as dizziness and vomiting.Imagine me inside your tummyagain. It’s lovely. The best cuddleof your life. Calm. Calmness. Asnoring dog in a new basket.Lovely. Under the blanket. Likewhen I was small.LucyScene 3Heroin is highly addictive and creates feelings of craving and a strong psychological desire to keepusing the drug. It has a highly unpleasant effect when withdrawing from the drug, which makes manyusers simply take more to avoid the unpleasant effects which can include: restlessness, insomnia,diarrhoea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps and muscle and bone pain.RisksHeroin bought on the streets is very rarely 100% pure; it is us usually somewhere between 30-80%pure, averaging 45-50% pure, and can be mixed or 'cut' with a number of different ingredientsincluding sugar, starch, milk powder, nutmeg, brick dust and ground-up gravel.Heroin use, often because of the means in which it is taken - by injection - is inked to a number ofother medical complications including: chronic liver disease, collapsed veins, pneumonia, infectiondisease including HIV and tuberculosis and abscesses. Statistics show that 75% of new AIDS casesamong women and children are directly or indirectly a consequence of drug use by heroin.Alcohol and drug-use disorders are complex and individuals with addiction can suffer from a numberof other problems as well. Substance-use disorders are often associated with interpersonal and socialResource Pack: The Knot of the Heart 36