Smack, brown sugar, dope, horse, skag, H, junk, skunk, white horse, Mexican black tar or Chinese white. It's the invisible drug epidemic in schools, killing more and more people. The drug is heroin. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “heroin use has increased 80 percent among teens, and overdose deaths among youth ages 15 to 24 have increased 38 percent nationwide.” With the rise of heroin, it is essential that parents, grandparents and friends are aware and involved if they suspect someone is abusing the drug. Heroin is an opiate. Opioid drugs are obtained naturally from the flowers of the poppy plant or produced synthetically. The opium poppy has been cultivated for more than five thousand years for a wide range of therapeutic uses. Poppy seeds are refined from four main areas: Mexico, South America, Southeast and Southwest Asia. Although Afghanistan is the world's leading producer of heroin, the type most prevalent in the United States comes from South America. The seeds of poppy plants produce morphine. Heroin was first synthesized from morphine in 1874. Morphine affects the chemical functioning of the brain; it changes how people perceive what they perceive. Abuse of heroin and many prescription painkillers carries a high risk of addiction and physical dependence. What does heroin look like? Heroin can be presented in many different forms. The purest form of heroin is a white powder. It also varies in a variety of colors due to manufacturing impurities or additives. Heroin is usually sold on the streets as a white or brown powder or as a sticky black substance known as “black tar heroin.” Brown heroin is a basic... middle of paper... death (due to overdose), muscle weakness, memory loss, depression, loss of appetite and insomnia are some of the long-term side effects that heroin has on the human body. Works Cited “Drug Facts: Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction.” National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NP, September 2009. Web. May 26, 2014."Heroin: Above the Influence." Above the flu. Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and Web. May 26, 2014. “Facts About Heroin.” And effects. Drug Policy Alliance, n.d. Web. May 26, 2014. “Heroin Arguments.” Types of heroin. Resources for Treating Heroin Addiction, 2011. Web. May 27, 2014."Heroin Withdrawal Symptoms." Short/long term side effects of heroin. Drug-Free World and the Web. May 26, 2014. "Juvenile heroin." Youthful heroine. Ministry of Health, nd Web. 27 May 2014."The different types of heroin on the streets." Methods of heroin use. Heroin.net and Web. 27 May 2014.