Black Tar Heroin - Composition

Composition

Pure morphine and heroin are both fine, white, and odorless powders. Tar's unique appearance and texture is due to its acetylation without benefit of the usual reflux apparatus: the Wright-Beckett process substitutes common acetic acid for high-purity acetic anhydride in the acetylating process and omits the refluxing steps, making black tar cruder but cheaper and faster to produce than true heroin. It should also be noted that the percent of the remainder of black tar heroin is often other psychoactive opiate substances, like monoacetylmorphine in the form of 3- and 6-monoacetylmorphine (3-MAM and 6-MAM) in addition to the usual adulterants and diluents found in other forms of heroin.

The abnormally high 3-MAM content is due to the less than optimum acetylating agent combined with a different reaction time for the acetylation procedure. Varying levels of 6-MAM are due to the process of hydrolysis or from the process of using a catalyst in the creation of the product from the beginning (6-MAM being more potent by weight than 3,6-DAM or "heroin" proper), a natural decomposition of heroin, which is accelerated when the heroin comes into contact with moisture. In 2006, ten-year-old samples of black tar heroin held as evidence were found to contain 51% and 63% 6-MAM by the Vista, California, U.S. DEA laboratory.

The assumption that Tar has less adulterants and diluents is a misconception. The most common adulterant is lactose, which is added to Tar via dissolution of both substances in a liquid medium, reheating and filtering, and then recrystallizing. This process is very simple and can be accomplished in any kitchen with no level of expertise needed.

The price per kilogram of black tar heroin has increased from one-tenth that of South American powder heroin in the mid-1990s to between one-half and three-quarters in 2003 due to increased distributional acumen combined with increased demand in black tar's traditional realm of distribution. Black tar heroin distribution has steadily risen in recent years, while that of U.S. east coast powder varieties has dropped; heroin production in Colombia has decreased as U.S.-funded efforts to eradicate Colombian poppy fields continue.