What Does Black Tar Heroin Smell Like?

Know the Odor of Smoking Black Tar and Get a Loved One Support

If you’re concerned about the erratic behavior of a loved one and think that they might be indulging in a black tar heroin addiction, you aren’t alone. More than 1.1 million people over the age of twelve used the drug at some point in the last year. Most of them have a heroin use disorder.

What does black tar heroin smell like so that you can pinpoint a problem?

Black tar heroin has a pungent odor that is very close to the smell of vinegar and can be compared to the odor of opening a bag of salt and vinegar chips. A burnt plastic smell might be present when smoked, depending on what ingredients the drug is cut with. It could even smell like cat urine to some people.

If they snort heroin or inject it, you may not notice an overwhelming smell that is present when smoking it, but it will still be excreted by sweat and give a slight odor.

Changes Healing Center can help your loved one take the first steps away from opioid addiction and substance abuse. Keep reading to learn more about how to identify the acidic smell of heroin.

What Do Pure Heroin and Black Tar Heroin Smell Like?

Pinpointing and identifying the odor of heroin is a tricky business. Unlike drugs like marijuana which have a telltale scent, the heroin smell is usually nonexistent. Heroin in its purest form is completely odorless, but additives give it a different smell. For the most part, it has a vinegary smell or a slightly sweeter smell.

On the other hand, black tar heroin contains additives that give it a unique smell. It’s about as far from pure heroin as you can get, which means that the drug smells distinctly like the extra ingredients that are used to manufacture it. In this case, the smell is overwhelmingly like vinegar and could resemble the smell of cat urine.

When you smoke black tar heroin, you’ll find that it smells a bit like burning plastic to outside observers. When users inject black tar heroin, you might not notice a smell at all initially, until it begins to come out in the form of sweat.

What Influences the Smell of Black Tar Heroin?

Why is there such a range of smells that are associated with the form of processed brown powdered heroin known as black tar? In short, it’s because of the many additives that are used to cut this drug before selling it on the streets. These extra ingredients take away from the purity of the drug, lower its cost, and influence the smell.

Additives for black tar heroin can include benign ingredients like coffee grounds or soil, but they can also contain much more serious additives like rat poison. Because you’re buying brown heroin which typically already has a dark coloration, you’ll find that dealers cut it with just about anything to drive costs down and make more profit.

The problem is that these additives can range from non-toxic to problematic in the case of fentanyl and other drugs. The distinct difference in these additives should be reason enough to steer clear of a black tar heroin addiction. You never know what your drug is laced with until you’re smoking it — and even then, it can be difficult to pinpoint a different smell.

Because of the impurity of this type of heroin, it’s usually the least expensive form of the drug but also among the most dangerous. Due to the rise of counterfeit opioid pills known as ‘blues,’ the popularity of tar has decreased somewhat, and these dangerous knock-off M30 Percocets are causing more overdose deaths due to fentanyl contamination than cinnamon heroin, black tar, and more traditional forms of opioids.

Unlike with the odor of black tar being smoked, or the smell of crack when smoked, the odor of fentanyl smoke is virtually non-existent other than whatever cutting agents have been used.

The Dangers of Fentanyl-Laced Heroin

Street heroin is difficult to monitor for purity because you never know where drug dealers have gotten the heroin or what they’ve done to it to make it stretch. Non-toxic cutting agents like coffee grounds aren’t always problematic, but other substances could pose serious problems for your health and lead to heroin overdose and even death.

Heroin sold on the streets is often laced with fentanyl which is insidious and dangerous. It doesn’t impact the heroin taste or smell because fentanyl is odorless and tasteless. Taking too much of it is easy to do and can quickly lead to death. One dose of fentanyl is all it takes to impact the central nervous system significantly and cause a user to OD.

Fentanyl is responsible for an incredible increase in drug overdose deaths over the past few years.

How to Get Support for a Loved One’s Heroin Addiction

Whether you suspect that a loved one is injecting heroin or smoking it, the time to take action is now. A heroin overdose is a serious business, and you don’t want to wait until it’s too late to confront them with the reality of the damage their drug abuse is doing to their life.

Changes Healing Center can place them in a safe setting where they can get the help they need.

Medical Detox and Around-the-Clock Care for Early Recovery

The first step toward recovering from a black tar heroin addiction is a medical detox. They’ll be faced with an array of uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms in the early days following their last dose of the drug. Medical detox at Changes’ accredited partner facility places them under the care of a team of doctors and nurses who can utilize their knowledge of medication-assisted treatment options to keep clients comfortable.

They also have 24/7 care from clinicians and medical staff so that their every need is cared for in a comfortable and safe environment. There’s no risk of turning back to drug dealers while in a detox program.

Accredited Care with Evidence-Based Treatment Options

Changes Healing Center is proud to be a Joint Commission-accredited treatment facility. This means that we uphold the most stringent standards of patient care and safety including those set out by CMS and OSHA. Plus, the Joint Commission adds its own unique standards and processes designed to support continuous improvement.

While undergoing treatment, your loved one will have access to an array of evidence-based treatment options ranging from cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapies to motivational interviewing. There are also Twelve Step meetings that offer peer support for these difficult early days.

Getting the right help at the right time is essential for a heroin addiction. This can also help pinpoint a mental health disorder that contributes to substance abuse.

In-Network Coverage for Many Insurance Providers

Never let cost be the thing that holds you back from seeking help for a loved one for a black tar heroin issue. Changes Healing Center provides in-network care from many of the most common insurance providers. This helps offset the cost of both residential and outpatient treatment programs under our umbrella of care.

All it takes is a quick phone call to our enrollment team to verify insurance benefits for rehab and see what the out-of-pocket cost might be for your loved one to receive care. Our warm and welcoming staff can give you the information you need to present to a loved one who needs help.

Changes Healing Center Can Help with Heroin Abuse and Recovery

Addictive drugs like heroin pose a serious issue for people all over the country. Whether you’re dealing with fentanyl-laced heroin or black tar heroin, you have a serious issue if a loved one is indulging in the drug.

Changes Healing Center can help them get clean and sober, but it all starts with knowing what heroin smells like and identifying a drug addiction to get support.

Call us today to verify insurance benefits, ask questions about placement in detox and residential treatment programs for heroin users, and get help as soon as same-day placement!

Resources

1. NIDA. 2023, December 14. What is the scope of heroin use in the United States?. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin/scope-heroin-use-in-united-states on 2024, August 16
2. NIDA. 2021, December 21. Fentanyl. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/fentanyl on 2024, August 15
3. NIDA. 2021, April 13. What are the treatments for heroin use disorder?. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin/what-are-treatments-heroin-use-disorder on 2024, August 17