For Hub City Times

Heroin is an illegal opioid derived from the opium poppy plant. It is typically sold as a white, brown, or gray powder or rock-like substance or as a black, sticky substance. Common street or drug culture names include China white, black tar, Ron, boy, dope, smack, and H.

How is heroin used?

Heroin can be injected, smoked, or snorted. Injection delivers the most rapid and intense high. However, all methods are highly addictive.

Heroin is often mixed with other substances called “cutting agents” that are inexpensive, easy to obtain, and mimic the physical characteristics of heroin, such as diphenhydramine, an active ingredient in over-the-counter sleep aides and allergy medications (e.g. Dormin, Benadryl). Heroin has also been known to be mixed with fentanyl (a prescription painkiller) to make the drug more potent and more appealing to users. Since users often do not know what heroin is mixed with or strength they are using, there is a high risk of overdose or death.

Ask Marshfield Police Department

Question: Why are different drugs showing up in Marshfield?

Answer: Various drugs often show up in communities based on supply and demand. The supply typically comes from drug cartels from other countries, such as Mexico, Afghanistan, and southeast Asia, based on what there is a market for. If the demand of one drug starts to decline, typically the demand of another drug is on the rise.

To schedule a MACY Drug Task Force presentation or submit “Ask Marshfield Police Department” questions, contact the Marshfield Clinic Center for Community Outreach at 715-221-8400 or cco@marshfieldclinic.org.