What is a subculture?

A group of people who share a set of characteristics that are different from

most of society.

Heroin drug addicts are a specific deviant subgroup

• Heroin is an opiate drug that is synthesized from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance, known as “black tar heroin.”

Heroin Material Culture

Values or beliefs “ Pleasure”

• After an intravenous injection of heroin, users report feeling a surge of euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by dry mouth, a warm flushing of the skin, heaviness of the extremities, and clouded mental functioning. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes “on the nod,” an alternately wakeful and drowsy state. Users who do not inject the drug may not experience the initial rush, but other effects are the same.

Language

• Dope, smack, mud, brown, junk,

• China white, white boy• Black tar, Big H, • Brown sugar, nod,• Speedball , cooker, bomb, hanger,• Dragon, narcotic opiate,• Bag, nickel, dime, smoke, snort, inject,

Heroin effects

• Euphoria• Rush• Warm feeling of the skin• Dry mouth• Suppression of pain• Clouded mental functioning• Nod

Behaviors / Effects

• Supper Addiction• Need of money to feed habit can lead to

crime• Withdrawal can be painful• Depression• Overdose / Death / Prison• Disease or Addiction• Treatment / Methadone

Other related issues

• HIV / AIDS• Sexual promiscuity• Endocarditus / infection• Veins become damaged after several years of

use• Teeth tend to rot/ desire for sweets• Jail time / criminal activity

Places

Places

Addicts and Society

• Some people view them as stupid or weak.• Others have no compassion “ It’s their fault”• Some professionals in the Medical and Drug

Addiction treatment field see addiction as a disease.

• Movies and the news media usually portray it in a very negative aspect.