Is Snorting Heroin Safer Than Injecting It?
Although snorting heroin may be perceived as less dangerous than injection (intravenous or IV) use of this drug, the health risks and potential for addiction and heroin overdose are significant. Heroin is a powerfully addictive and illicit drug in the opioid family. It is a chemical modification of morphine, which derives from the opium poppy plant, and is converted back to morphine once it’s in the brain, where it binds to opioid receptors to cause its effects.
How People Use Heroin
People commonly inject, snort, or smoke heroin. Each of these methods induces an intense high shortly after administration. Heroin causes users to experience euphoria, drowsiness, and altered pain perception. However, it also can also cause profound respiratory depression, coma, and death.
Snorting Heroin – Why It Is Dangerous
Snorting heroin involves either inhaling powdered heroin or heroin dissolved in small amounts of liquid through the nose. The drug then enters the bloodstream …