BLACK TAR HEROIN

Black tar heroin looks different than powder heroin. It is a dark-colored form of heroin that can be rock-like or sticky like roofing tar. During production, black tar heroin often is mixed, or “cut,” with low-quality substances such as burned cornstarch or lactose. The substance generally is less refined and cheaper than conventional powder heroin.

People who use black tar heroin usually smoke it or inject it after dissolving and diluting the drug. In most cases, users inject black tar into veins, muscles, or under the skin. But it can be heated on foil over an open flame and inhaled through a straw or similar device. They also mix with water over heat and spray into the nose.

Mexico is the primary producer of Black tar heroin, using crude processing methods. But parts of South America, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia have also manufactured the substance. The drug is sometimes called heroin acetate because black tar is often produced after a stage of the refinement process called acetylation.

It is often the most prevalent form of heroin available in the western United States, but it has also been found in parts of the northeastern United States, western Canada, and Europe. Dealers generally sell in chunks weighing about an ounce.

Who Uses Black Tar?

Multiple studies show that people who inject the drug are more likely to be older men. Who have extensive histories of drug use and test positive for viruses such as HIV or hepatitis. Those who inject or shoot black tar generally started using heroin earlier than those who inhale or smoke the drug, and they also have higher levels of dependency.

A 2006 study published in the Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions examined the characteristics of 199 black tar users receiving methadone treatment in Texas.

What Are the Effects of Black tar?

People who intravenously inject black tar heroin could develop venous sclerosis, a condition characterized by the narrowing and hardening of the veins. Black tar users also face an increased risk of bacterial infections such as necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease.

In fact, a 2016 study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs found that these heroin users were twice as likely as Colombian-produced powder heroin users to develop soft tissue infections such as necrotizing fasciitis.

Black tar heroin combines with cold medication to form “Cheese,” a highly addictive tan-colored powder. Cheese can result in lethargy, disorientation, excessive thirst, drowsiness, and hunger. Between 2005 and 2007, the concoction was associated with a rise in teen deaths in Texas.

This type of heroin can lead to an overdose. Signs of a heroin overdose include clammy skin, slow or shallow breathing, blue lips and fingernails, convulsions, and coma. If not treated immediately, an overdose can lead to death.