Heroin Side Effects of Chasing the Dragon:
When the dragon bites back

A growing number of users who smoke heroin are experiencing one of the worst heroin side effects possible - heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy

When smoking heroin, a user will typically place the heroin on a piece of aluminum tin foil and then heat it from below, thus causing the heroin to convert to oil. The user will then follow the oil up and down the tin foil. This is known as 'chasing the dragon'.

Recently, there have been more and more reports of users who have used this method, but who have succumbed to the heroin side effects of death or permanent brain damage by heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy.

Heroin Side Effects

The first reported case of heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy as one of the harmful side effects of smoking heroin was in Amsterdam in 1982. Since then it has been reported in Europe, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, China and Lebanon.

Heroin side effects from this terrible condition include permanent brain damage, slurred speech, an unbalanced walk, an inability to speak, paralysis, and in some cases, death. Even many survivors of heroin side effects like this are too damaged to even relate what happened.

It is believe that heroin side effects like heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy come as a result of a deadly mixture of chemicals produced by the interaction between some of the materials heroin can be cut with and the aluminum tin foil on which it is burned. Although it is also suspected that the heating and interaction of the aluminum with heroin alone may be the cause, since aluminum compounds are known neurotoxins.

Heroin side effects like heroin-induced toxic leukoencephalopathy make a strong case against chasing the dragon. Heroin side effects like this prove that sometimes, the dragon bites back.