Heroin

General 1: Different modes of ingestion

How long it takes to feel the effects of heroin depends on how the drug is ingested.

When it is inhaled, the heroin molecules enter the bloodstream in the lungs and travel to the brain via the heart. This route of administration gives the fastest effects: 7 to 10 seconds.

When heroin is injected directly into a vein, it is transported with the deoxygenated blood via the heart to the lungs and then back to the heart, before being pumped to the brain. This route takes 15 to 30 seconds.

If heroin is snorted, it is absorbed into the bloodstream via the nasal membranes, from where it is conducted to the heart, to the lungs and then back to the heart before arriving in the brain. This mode of ingestion takes the longest to produce effects: 2 to 3 minutes.