Heroin is not especially dissimilar to other opioids and was used medically for a long time before falling out of favor for other opioids with marginally less addictive potential. Has to do with its ease of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Black-market heroin is markedly less safe due variability in purity and adulterants, as well as the absence of medical supervision compounding with those factors to increase overdose risk.
Heroin is still used in some countries where they don’t have a lot of strong opioid options. It actually tends to agree with people better than even morphine at an equivalent dose.
Heroin is not especially dissimilar to other opioids and was used medically for a long time before falling out of favor for other opioids with marginally less addictive potential. Has to do with its ease of crossing the blood-brain barrier. Black-market heroin is markedly less safe due variability in purity and adulterants, as well as the absence of medical supervision compounding with those factors to increase overdose risk.
Heroin is still used in some countries where they don’t have a lot of strong opioid options. It actually tends to agree with people better than even morphine at an equivalent dose.