Heroin

Heroin (Diacetylmorphine) is an illegal narcotic drug, manufactured from the opium poppy, and has been cultivated for its properties since at least 3400BC (in Mesopotamia).

Heroin was briefly commercially marketed as a cough medicine for children, and as substitute for medicinal morphine, having been erroneously believed to be less addictive.

Apart from medicinal use under strict control, heroin is illegal nearly worldwide, with harsh penalties for its possession, manufacture and trafficking, including the death penalty in many countries.

Administration of heroin is typically conducted intravenously (sometimes mixed with cocaine - 'speedball'), insufflated, or smoked - 'chasing the dragon'. Large doses of heroin can be fatal, and the drug has often been used as a murder weapon.^{[Citation Needed]}