What Does Heroin Look Like
Heroin is a dangerous opiate that can cause harmful effects and even death. Heroin comes in various forms, including a sticky “tar” like substance and a white powder form. Because this dangerous substance is highly addictive and illegal, identifying it by sight could be life-saving.
Key Points
- Heroin takes several forms, including powder, liquid, and tablets.
- The color of heroin may indicate its degree of purity.
- Heroin can be smoked, injected, snorted, or taken orally.
- Heroin addiction signs include craving heroin or the euphoric effects, pinpoint pupils, slurred speech, sleepiness, infections from needle use, needle marks on the arms or over veins, and difficulty concentrating.
- Heroin addiction treatment includes medical detox, inpatient rehab, therapy, and support groups.
What Does Heroin Look Like?
Heroin will be a white or brown colored powder. It can also be in the form of a black sticky substance, which is known as black tar heroin. The different forms of heroin will be used differently.
White, Powder
Black tar
Tablets or Pills
Types Of Heroin
There is technically one type of heroin, but it comes in different forms. Regardless of type, all heroin is derived from the poppy plant.[1] The appearance of the drug will depend on how it has been made and whether or not any cutting agents have been used. The only sure way to tell if a substance is heroin is to test it.
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White Powder
White powder heroin is the purest and most refined form of the drug. It is also the classic form of heroin, usually found on the streets. It appears as a pure white powder but can also have different color tones depending on which chemicals were used to process it and whether or not it has been “cut” or combined with other substances. White powder heroin can have an off-white, brown, pink, beige, or yellow tint.
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Black Tar
Black tar heroin is not as refined or pure as white powder heroin. It will be less expensive but also not as potent as pure heroin. It is a tar-like sticky substance instead of a fine powder. The impurities in this form of heroin influence the consistency and color.
As the name suggests, black tar heroin is dark brown or black but may also be tinted orange. This form of the drug may also look like a chunk of solid coal before it’s ready to use.
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Brown
Brown heroin is another powder form that has not been fully purified. It is less potent than white heroin and is more difficult to dissolve in water. The true brown color of the drug is due to impurities and an incomplete purification process. This brown will be unique from the tan or brown tint that some white heroin powders will have.
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Heroin Tablets
It is possible to put heroin into a tablet or pill form. Because heroin pills and tables are illegal and not regulated like standard prescription medications, the drug can be pressed into any color or shape. Someone may not be able to tell if a pill contains heroin, but they may notice if it is an official prescription or not.
Heroin in tablet form will typically lack the usual markings that medication pills possess. They don’t have any extra coloring that some medications have. Heroin tablets can be off-white, white, or brown. Heroin pills may also be capsules that contain a black, white, or brown substance.
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Synthetic Heroin
Laboratories can create a synthetic form of heroin that is not purified from the opium poppy plant. Its appearance varies based on how it was made, its degree of purity, and what cutting agents have been used in the production.
Synthetic heroin can appear very similar to other forms of pure heroin. It often looks like a white powder but can also have an off-white, brown, or beige tint and can also be pressed into a pill.
How Is Heroin Used?
How heroin is used will usually depend on the form of heroin that is purchased and the method of use that is preferred.
Injecting Heroin
Injecting heroin directly into a vein is the most common and most dangerous way to use the drug. This allows the drug to work quickly to provide the fastest and most intense high and can increase the likelihood of adverse effects or overdose.
For the drug to be injected into the vein, it will need to be heated and turned into a liquid. That liquid will then be drawn up into a syringe and injected directly into the vein. A tourniquet is also common to make the veins easily accessible.
Smoking Heroin
Inhaling or smoking heroin is unique to non-liquified forms of the drug, such as black tar heroin or brown heroin. It can also be made into cigarettes and smoked or melted on top of a piece of foil.[2] As fumes rise from the foil, they’re inhaled through a straw. This method allows the drug to enter the bloodstream quickly through the membranes in the lungs.
Snorting Heroin
Forms of heroin that do not dissolve easily in water may be snorted, but this is most common with powdered heroin. Black tar heroin can be frozen and then ground up to form a powder that can also be snorted.
Ingesting Heroin
When heroin is in pill form, it will be swallowed and ingested. This method may cause the drug to take longer for the effects to present because the body must first dissolve and absorb it through the intestines. The active agent of the drug may also be diluted, reducing the effects due to the filtration process through the liver before it circulates throughout the body.
Common Heroin Cutting Agents
Cutting agents are used when the goal is to “dilute” the heroin. This can increase the profits for the dealer. Sometimes, the cutting agents used can be more dangerous than the drug itself. Someone may take heroin, not knowing what other substances it contains, increasing the risk of accidental overdose.
Common cutting agents for heroin include:
- Sodium chloride
- Powdered milk or milk sugar
- Corn starch
- Citric acid
- Fructose
- Calcium carbonate
- Mannitol (diuretic)
- Fentanyl and carfentanil
Other drugs may be added to heroin for the dealer to create a “unique product.” These are known as “adulterants” and are added to produce additional effects. Some of these include:
- Cocaine
- Strychnine
- Acetylsalicylic acid
- Caffeine
- Diphenhydramine
Signs Of Heroin Addiction
When someone becomes addicted to heroin, there may be health and lifestyle indicators. Common signs of heroin addiction include:
- Chest pains
- Kidney problems
- Confusion
- Rapid increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature
- Altered mental status
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Circulatory collapse
- Death
Heroin Treatment And Recovery
The overdose death rate of heroin-involved overdoses increased about 7% from 2019 to 2020.[3] However, overdose from heroin can be prevented if treatment is sought.
During the earliest stage of treatment, the medical and therapeutic care team will work directly with the patient to help them detox safely. With medication-assisted treatment and dedicated support, the risk of relapse is greatly reduced.
Inpatient treatment may be recommended to help you or your loved one focus on treatment without distractions. During an inpatient program, the patient will participate in various types of therapy and develop long-term recovery strategies.
If you or someone you care about is struggling with heroin addiction, know that it’s possible to get on the road to recovery. The team at Alpas Wellness is ready to help you get on the path to sobriety.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are heroin track marks?
Heroin track marks are the marks that are caused by injecting heroin. When the drug is injected into the same place repeatedly, marks will appear over the vein. Once the veins become worn out due to frequent injections, many people will move further up the same vein, resulting in more track marks.
How is heroin packaged?
Packaging usually depends on where it comes from. Heroin has been seen packaged in capsules, wrapped in foil, in ziplock bags, wrapped in plastic, in glass vials, or in paper bags.
What are examples of heroin paraphernalia?
Heroin paraphernalia refers to the objects or materials that are required for heroin use. Some paraphernalia for injecting heroin includes spoons with burn marks at the bottom, needles, cotton filters, syringes, or tourniquets.
Paraphernalia for snorting the drug may include a credit card or razor blade to arrange the drug into lines and a rolled-up dollar bill or straw to inhale the drug.
When smoking heroin, aluminum foil with heat marks, a straw, and materials for making cigarettes may be found.
NIDA. 2022, December 16. Heroin DrugFacts. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroin on 2023, June 21
Yalamanoglu, A., & Schuurmans, M. M. (2018). Folienrauchen/Heroin inhalativ [Foil Smoking/Heroin Inhalation]. Praxis, 107(25), 1393–1398. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31166873/ on 2023, June 21
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Heroin Overdose Data”. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/heroin/index.html on 2023, June 21
