Black tar heroin is a type of illicit opiate narcotic drug formed from the incomplete acetylation of morphine. It is also called black or brown.
Black tar can contain a variable percentage of heroin, but despite the name, what makes Black Tar specific as a type is not actually its heroin (diacetylmorphine) content, but rather the greater mixture of lesser acetylated morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine) and 3-MAM (3-monoacetylmorphine). This is caused by the use of the antiquated Wright-Beckett process (c. 1874), which produces a relatively crude and unrefined opiate product but does not require the complex lab equipment, high-purity acetylating chemicals or lengthy reflux steps necessary to produce pure heroin, making it attractive to clandestine drug producers.
Black tar heroin is produced in Latin America, and is most commonly found in the western and southern parts of the United States, while also being occasionally found in western Canada and Europe. It has a varying consistency depending on manufacturing methods, cutting agents, and moisture levels, ranging in quality from a black-brown, tarry goo in unrefined form to a uniform, light-brown powder when further processed and cut with lactose.
Read more about Black Tar Heroin: History, Composition, Health Matters Specific To Injecting Black Tar Heroin, Terminology, Documentary
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