# Prepping a shot of heroin, why the lighter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882 "2013-03-14T02:42:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/21 "2013-03-19T04:04:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > It’s a few drops of liquid. It’s Colby the time it is drawn up into the syringe. Autocorrect thinks it knows slang for heroin users. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/22 "2013-03-19T04:27:39Z")
Ignorance fought. I am learning so much here in my first year on the Dope! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/23 "2013-03-19T04:29:40Z")
A long-time heroin user I knew actually _never_ did the whole “lighter under the spoon” thing; she said it wasn’t necessary-if the quality was good-and it only made the overall ‘hit’ smaller. I can testify that I saw her do everything from opening the pack, to doing a bunch of prep stuff (that I can’t really tell you much about, truthfully) to injecting the drug in her arm, all without ever using a lighter or otherwise heating the heroin. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/24 "2013-03-19T04:48:22Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > Ignorance fought. I am learning so much here in my first year on the Dope! First year here and you’ve already ponied up the big bucks to become a member. You’re a lesson to us all. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/25 "2013-03-19T04:53:35Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > First year here and you’ve already ponied up the big bucks to become a member. You’re a lesson to us all. Where else can I learn how to do heroin? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/26 "2013-03-19T06:44:12Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > As Storyguide points out, heroin is certainly used in medicine - as diacetylmorphine. Morphine itself is also used. > > I stand to be corrected but so far as I know, heroin is refined from morphine, not the other way around. > > The source is opium poppies which are grown legally on farms in Tasmania and probably other places. I must confess to being startled when I first saw a crop. There were no razor wire fences or any visible security but I’m sure you couldn’t just wander into a paddock and fill your pockets. Also the paddocks were away from any roads. It isnt marijuana, you get the raw opium by scoring the pods after the petals have dropped and collecting the latex sap after it has oozed out and dried. You can get several harvests in the week after the petals have dropped. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/27 "2013-03-19T10:52:02Z")
Some within the public health community wish that more addicts would heat their heroin. It seems that shooting up without heating the drug can lead to abscess, which can lead to all sorts of other nastiness. ([Cite here](http://www.thefix.com/content/addicts-abcesses-bacteria-contaminated-needles8080)) ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/28 "2013-03-20T04:11:01Z")
“Refined” isn’t really the word to use with respect to morphine and heroin. Poppy sap dries out to be opium, which is refined to extract the morphine, and that is chemically modified into heroin, aka diacetylmorphine. See the Wikipedia page for more detail. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/29 "2013-03-22T22:18:12Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > What I meant by this statement, “(Personally, I’ve never come across or heard of any other kind of heroin.)”, is I’ve never heard of heroin being available anywhere _ **but** _ ‘on the street’. > Heroin, AFAIK isn’t used by the professional medical community. Doctors and hospitals use the refined form of heroin, morphine. > I could be wrong about that, though. 😕 > Perhaps Qadgop the Mercotan will drop by and give us a more knowledgable answer on the subject. Wanders in to say what **rjk** already said, but with more words… Heroin is diacetyl morphine. Patented by Bayer pharmaceuticals back in the day, it was first touted as a safe, non-addicting alternative to morphine. Well, that didn’t turn out so well. But it was used in the US as a prescription pain-killer and cough suppressant until it was made illegal to manufacture or import. Hospitals and pharmacies were allowed to use up their stocks, however. I believe this happened in the 1950’s but am too lazy to look it up. At any rate, morphine is the most common opioid found in opium. When treated chemically, it gets turned into heroin via the addition of two acetyl groups to the morphine molecule. So **JBD** , you’ve got it backwards. Morphine is found in raw opium. It’s then processed into heroin. Wanders out… ---
**Author:** ![JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JESS-A-MA-KESS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/30 "2013-06-02T09:25:26Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I’ve never seen anyone use a lighter in real life in documentaries, never seen a lighter used in real either. > > Yet in a lot of old movies and heroin addict media you’ll see a lighter applied to the spoon with the water or the water and heroin, what does that accomplish? Some dope like china white needs heat put on it a little bit for it to completely dissolve and break down, black tar has to be cooked also. However most of the boy around where I am from that is the best doesn’t need any heat and dissolves easy. It’s usually the really light powdery dope that tends to need a little heat. So I guess the answer is it just depends on the dope ---
**Author:** ![JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JESS-A-MA-KESS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/31 "2013-06-02T09:44:54Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > What I meant by this statement, “(Personally, I’ve never come across or heard of any other kind of heroin.)”, is I’ve never heard of heroin being available anywhere _ **but** _ ‘on the street’. > Heroin, AFAIK isn’t used by the professional medical community. Doctors and hospitals use the refined form of heroin, morphine. > I could be wrong about that, though. 😕 > Perhaps Qadgop the Mercotan will drop by and give us a more knowledgable answer on the subject. There’s actually a lot of different kinds of heroin. 3 main ones I have come across and then different kinds within the three main ones. A lot of it has to do with how pure it is and what kind of cut is in it. There’s the china white (the real china white which is a soft white chalky rock) and then grayish whitish tannish dope that is similar and needs heat. Then there’s black tar which is like the consistency of opium, tar and feels kinda like a raisin. Black tar used to be the most common and was very strong and dirty but it’s hard to come by here in atlanta. And then there is what we call sand which is a brown rock, actually the best sand I had almost had a reddish tint to it and wasn’t soft or so hard you couldn’t break it down its crispy and crumbles when crushing it, dissolves quick and needs no heat. Sand comes in many different colors and strengths so I always do a test shot with new/different dope to see how strong it is so I can know how much to do. And heroin and morphine both come from poppy plant which is also where opium is from. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/32 "2013-06-02T13:04:51Z")
> [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](#): > > There’s actually a lot of different kinds of heroin. 3 main ones I have come across and then different kinds within the three main ones. A lot of it has to do with how pure it is and what kind of cut is in it. There’s the china white (the real china white which is a soft white chalky rock) and then grayish whitish tannish dope that is similar and needs heat. Then there’s black tar which is like the consistency of opium, tar and feels kinda like a raisin. Black tar used to be the most common and was very strong and dirty but it’s hard to come by here in atlanta. And then there is what we call sand which is a brown rock, actually the best sand I had almost had a reddish tint to it and wasn’t soft or so hard you couldn’t break it down its crispy and crumbles when crushing it, dissolves quick and needs no heat. Sand comes in many different colors and strengths so I always do a test shot with new/different dope to see how strong it is so I can know how much to do. And heroin and morphine both come from poppy plant which is also where opium is from. Please read post number 29 for information about what heroin is. Your description may have merit on the street, or in the ER when treating a multi drug OD, but not pharmacologically. Welcome to The Dope, by the way. It seems you have an interest in opioids. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/33 "2013-06-02T16:57:28Z")
> [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](#): > > Sand comes in many different colors and strengths so I always do a test shot with new/different dope to see how strong it is so I can know how much to do. **Moderator Note** **JESS-A-MA-KESS** , please note our [rules on discussion of illegal drugs](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7696990#post7696990): > [@](#): > > Drugs that are illegal in the US: You may discuss the effects of drugs, but not where to obtain them. Limited discussion of past use of drugs is OK, but discussion of current use is not. Please include a disclaimer that the drug is illegal in the US. The quoted part of your post is in violation of our policy. Please abide by the rules in future posts. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Born\_again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Born\_again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Born_again)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/34 "2013-06-15T21:31:22Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > This is probably a really stupid question, but… do they let it cool down before they inject it? :eek: I can’t imagine what sort of damage bubbling hot liquid would do to your veins, but I also can’t imagine that these are very patient people with great delayed gratification skills. Hi I’m Shane from Leeds England, 10 yrs clean from the big H. Basically you place he heroin powder on a spoon and then add water +a small amount of citric acid to help the heroin break down into a clear liquid. THus enabling you to then inject and ruin life as you know it. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/35 "2013-06-15T22:38:41Z")
Wow. First the hooker thread and now the heroin thread. Is this a theme weekend of which I am not aware? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/36 "2013-06-15T23:58:39Z")
Worse. It’s a prepositional free-for-all and you’re in but of that fact weren’t aware! Himself every man is for now. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/37 "2013-06-16T05:45:22Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Worse. It’s a prepositional free-for-all and you’re in but of that fact weren’t aware! > > Himself every man is for now. Thanks. I’ll try again. Is this a theme weekend? I did not know that it was a theme weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/38 "2013-06-17T18:02:06Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Thanks. I’ll try again. > > Is this a theme weekend? I did not know that it was a theme weekend. Every weekend is a theme weekend on the SDMB. Usually it’s hookers-and-blow; this weekend it was hookers-and-snow. Welcome to the SDMB, **JESS-A-MA-KESS** and **Born again**. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/39 "2013-06-17T18:48:08Z")
> [@grude](#): > > But to make things even stranger I just found during research that heroin is more soluble in cold water, rather than hot. I know nothing about heroin, but I just want to point out that even if a substance is more soluble in cold water than in hot, it may still dissolve faster in hot water. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882/40 "2013-06-18T10:06:46Z")
My apologies for posting incorrect information. My experiences with the subject being discussed were few, far between and long ago. Thankfully, it just didn’t have a lot of appeal to me back then, and even less now. My sympathies to any that have carried (or currently are carrying) that ‘gorilla’ around on their back. ☹ I know that it’s a ‘tough row to hoe’ and for some it never ends, or it ends badly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prepping-a-shot-of-heroin-why-the-lighter/652882.md?page=3)