Author: Alex Thompson

What Is Black Tar Heroin?

Additionally, black tar heroin contains many more impurities than white powder heroin, and these impurities can cause severe infections. Ohio harm reduction programs can prevent the spread of bacterial infections during injection drug use. These programs may offer clean needles, intervention services, and access to addiction treatment programs.

Inpatient treatment provides you with around-the-clock treatment away from drug-using triggers at home. Outpatient recovery involves living at home and attending therapy during the day. Unlike white powder or brown powder heroin, black tar heroin can take on a dark appearance and a solid, sticky feel. Using black tar heroin can cause health effects such as overdose, addiction, and bacterial infections. The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper is a licensed addiction treatment facility that specializes in helping people who struggle with heroin use. Contact us today to learn more about treatment plans and recovery programs that fit your needs.

Black Tar Heroin Overdose Signs

Black tar heroin is an impure form of heroin produced primarily in Mexico. Like other forms of heroin, it is a Schedule I controlled substance that carries a high risk of abuse and addiction. Because it requires less processing than other forms of heroin, black tar heroin may be less expensive than purer forms of the drug.

1. This form of the drug requires heating in order to liquefy into an aqueous solution before injecting.
2. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.
3. Injecting dissolved powder heroin comes with a host of risks separate from smoking it or injecting black tar heroin, which may contain more additives than the powder form.
4. Drug overdose is a medical emergency and can be life-threatening.
5. Brown powder heroin is commonly smoked, however, it may also be injected or snorted.

Regular use can often lead to physical and psychological dependence. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. Drug overdose is a medical emergency and can be life-threatening. People who are addicted to heroin may need further treatment to help them stay off heroin and fully heal from the physical, psychological, and emotional effects of drug addiction.

Abuse Methods

The helpline at AddictionResource.net is available 24/7 to discuss the treatment needs of yourself or a loved one. This helpline is answered by Ark Behavioral Health, an addiction treatment provider with treatment facilities in Massachusetts and Ohio. In the 1990s, black tar heroin use increased in the United States, and botulism became more widespread among injection drug users. From 2000 to 2004, more than 30 heroin or cocaine users in Europe developed botulism. Researchers found no confirmed cases of botulism related to drug use in the U.K. The Recovery Village Cherry Hill at Cooper offers comprehensive addiction treatment for drug and alcohol addictions and co-occurring mental health conditions.

Black tar heroin is chemically different from traditional powder heroin. This is because the manufacturing process used to make the drug leaves many impurities behind. The result is a heroin product that looks very different from powder heroin and has different properties as well. Often sourced from Mexico and found in states west of the Mississippi River, black tar heroin was produced by small Mexican heroin dealers. This was in contrast to previous powder heroin dealers, who typically worked large-scale with cartels at the time.

If you have naloxone, the life-saving opioid overdose antidote, you should administer it. If you or a loved one has a heroin addiction, contact our helpline today to find a heroin addiction treatment program. Smoking brown powder heroin comes with risks such as the increased risk of lung cancer, infections, effects on immune health, and more. Brown powder heroin is commonly smoked, however, it may also be injected or snorted.

Black Tar Heroin Use

All Addiction Resource content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible. The vapor produced from this is then inhaled using a straw or tube. This is commonly referred to as “chasing the dragon.” This can be detected by the strong, vinegary smell of black tar heroin. ✔️ Black tar heroin is processed and filtered using a variety of chemicals, but its primary ingredient is morphine.

Compared to black tar heroin, it tends to have the purest concentration levels of the drug. Heroin’s drug composition will influence its texture, solubility, pH, heat stability, weight, volume, and purity. These factors influence whether the drug is snorted, smoked, or injected. You nor your loved one are under any obligation to commit to an Ark Behavioral Health treatment program when calling our helpline.

Black tar heroin is primarily produced in Mexico using crude processing methods, according to the New York Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. But parts of South America, Southeast Asia and Southwest Asia have also manufactured the substance. The drug is sometimes called heroin acetate because black tar heroin is often produced after a stage of the refinement process called acetylation.

The treatment approach for black tar heroin addiction is similar to treatment for powder heroin addiction, according to Wandler. Evidence-based rehab centers in the United States use a combination of behavioral and pharmacological approaches to help people overcome addiction to black tar heroin. Treatment for black tar heroin addiction begins with heroin detox or the initiation of maintenance medications. In a medical detox facility, you stay in an inpatient setting and receive around-the-clock medical care to treat any withdrawal symptoms that arise. This can include medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone or buprenorphine-containing products. Medical detox is followed by inpatient or outpatient rehab, where behavioral treatments like counseling and therapy teach you the coping skills needed to live a heroin-free life.

In some parts of the United States, especially the lower states,[vague] black tar may be the only form of heroin that is available. Heroin overdose can occur after ingesting large amounts of heroin at once, or if the drug was adulterated with dangerous opioids like fentanyl. Black tar heroin can also be combined with other ingredients and drugs. Sometimes, it is combined with cocaine to lessen the “crash” that occurs after a cocaine high. Another combination is called “cheese,” which is a mixture of black tar heroin and over-the-counter cold medication. Cheese has been responsible for at least 40 deaths in Texas since 2004.

Like other types of heroin, black tar has a high potential for physical and psychological dependency. Naltrexone is a nonaddictive medication that blocks the effects of opioids. Some studies have found that clients are less likely to comply with naltrexone treatment than treatments involving other medications. Black tar as a type holds a variable admixture of morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine), which is another result of crude acetylation. The lack of proper reflux during acetylation fails to remove much of the moisture retained in the acetylating agent, acetic anhydride.