The Heroin User's Handbook

The Heroin User's Handbook
by Francis Moraes Ph.D.

I'd been interested in heroin for a long time and have read several books on the subject. Of all the books I've read on the topic, this is the one I recommend most highly on the basis of real-world, useful information.

His stated objective in the book is to replace myth with facts. He doesn't advocate the use of the drug, but presents loads of information which would be very useful, and in a perfect world, necessary, for a person to know in order to make an informed decision about whether or not to try it.

The title of the book really says it all, it's a guide for a person who chooses to experiment with and/or use the drug. He talks about how to go about finding it and gives tips regarding relating to dealers.

A very useful section of the book addresses exact methods for avoiding _physical_ dependency on the drug.

He talks about his life as an addict and his experience as a "chipper" (occasional user.) Addiction, he tells us, is a miserable state of affairs. The addict who uses daily no longer gets much of a high off the drug, but merely keeps himself from getting sick by taking his required daily dosage.

One of the most interesting things to me was that he talks about the positive aspects of his life as a chipper, which actually caame _after_ years of fll-blown addiction.

The impression I was left with after reading the book is that one of the worst and most horrific consequences of using the drug at all in society these days is the legal aspect. Heroin, he stresses, is very, very illegal in this country and can and most likely will cause some serious negative consequences sooner or later.

Overall I feel he does a great job at presenting many facts that the average person is unlikely to come across from the two main sources of information on the topic, those being the government/law enforcement and Hollywood.

The book is very well-researched and there's little doubt that much of the information was gathered from his own experience.

Informative, objective, elightening and incredibly interesting; I highly recommend this book from the many others on the topic to anyone interested in replacing many of the most common myths about the drug with the facts as perceived by the author.

Quick read and well worth the time.

- Beltane