Ask Erowid

Ask a Question


Find an answer:

View By Category

Search Ask Erowid
Search Vaults


Enter a keyword in the search field above to look up a question or answer on a specific topic.
Off-Site Psychoactive Question Resources
  Ask Dr Shulgin

Resources at Erowid
  Plants & Drugs
  Freedom & Law
  Mind & Spirit
  Arts & Sciences
  Library / Bookstore
  What's New
  About Erowid
  .
What are the differences between opium, heroin, and red rock?
Q: Is black tar opium the same as heroin? What's the difference between it and red rock opium?
A: Opium is a black sticky tar which is the latex (sap) of the opium poppy. It contains over a dozen drugs, with the main ones being morphine, codeine, thebaine and papaverine. These chemicals don't all work the same way. Thebaine, for example, is primarily a stimulant.



Heroin is not a natural chemical. It is a synthetic chemical made from morphine. Its effects are similar to the effects of morphine, only stronger. The effects of both heroin and morphine are quite different from natural opium, because of the mix of chemicals found in natural opium.



Red rock is not opium at all, and contains no known psychoactive drugs. It is actually an incense. For more on this, see the Red Rock Opium Myth.

Asked By : nancy
Answered By : murple
Published Date : 2 / 8 / 2001
Last Edited Date : 2 / 8 / 2001
Question ID : 1933
Categories: [ Red Rock ] [ Opium & Poppies ] [ Heroin ]


Ask Erowid v1.7 - Jul, 2005
[Plants & Drugs] [Mind & Spirit] [Freedom & Law] [Arts & Sciences] [Library] [Search] [About]
(content and html © the Vaults of Erowid. Please ask permission before publicly reproducing.)