What Does Heroin Do to Your Memory

Memory is one of the quietest things heroin damages. People often talk about overdose, infection or the risk of arrest, and those dangers are real. But the damage to memory arrives earlier, grows slowly, and is easy to miss. A person may start forgetting small things: where they put their keys, what a friend said yesterday, an appointment they agreed to last week. At first, they blame tiredness or stress. Over months, the gaps become wider. Learning something new takes longer. Following a conversation takes more effort. Work that was once easy starts to feel hard. This article explains, in plain words, what heroin does to memory: how it affects the brain, why short-term recall weakens first, why names and appointments slip away, and what may improve after a person stops using it and gets support. It is general information only, not individual medical advice. Heroin is illegal in most countries, it is highly addictive, and it can kill. If you are worried about your own use or about someone else, speak to a qualified health professional or a local drug support service as soon as you can.

Memory is not a single skill. It is several skills working together. Short-term memory holds information for a few seconds or minutes, such as a phone number you have just heard or the next step in a recipe. Working memory lets you hold that information while you use it, such as following directions while you walk. Long-term memory stores facts, faces and events for months or years. Learning depends on all of them: you notice something, you hold it in mind, and then your brain stores it. Heroin interferes with that chain. It changes how brain cells communicate, it disturbs sleep, it reduces oxygen to the brain during heavy use, and it fills daily life with stress and poor routine. Each of those effects makes memory weaker on its own. Together, they can make remembering everyday things a daily struggle.

It is important to say clearly that memory problems linked with heroin are not a sign of low intelligence. A person can be bright, skilled and hard-working, and still find their memory failing while they use heroin. The drug affects the brain systems that form and recall memories, and no amount of effort fully makes up for that while use continues. That distinction matters, because people who are struggling often blame themselves. They think they are careless or lazy, when in fact their brain is working against them. Understanding the cause does not excuse the harm, but it does point to the right response: help to stop using, support to rebuild routines, and time for the brain to recover.

How Heroin Reaches the Brain and Affects Memory

When heroin enters the body, it is quickly changed into a substance that reaches the brain and attaches to opioid receptors. Those receptors are part of the system that controls pain and pleasure, but they also influence attention, alertness and the way brain cells pass messages to each other. In the short term, heroin slows the brain down. Thinking becomes foggy, attention wanders, and new information is harder to take in. A person may hear instructions and forget them moments later, not because they were not listening, but because the brain did not store what it heard. That fog is one reason why memory feels unreliable while the drug is active.

The brain forms memories through a region called the hippocampus, which helps turn short experiences into lasting memories. Research on opioids suggests that heavy, repeated use can interfere with how this region works. When the hippocampus is not working well, the brain struggles to lay down new memories, even while older memories remain. That is why a person may remember their childhood clearly and still forget what happened yesterday. The past is already stored. The present is not being stored properly. Over time, that gap becomes obvious to family and colleagues, even when the person themselves does not see it.

Heroin also harms memory indirectly, through sleep and oxygen. Sleep is when the brain sorts and stores the day’s memories, and heroin use often disturbs sleep badly. Some people sleep heavily after a dose and then lie awake for hours during withdrawal. Others drift in and out of a drowsy state without ever getting proper rest. Without good sleep, memories are not filed away properly, and the next day starts with a weaker mind. Heavy use can also slow breathing, which reduces the oxygen reaching the brain. The brain needs a steady supply of oxygen to work well, and repeated periods of low oxygen can damage the delicate cells involved in memory. These effects build up quietly, which is why memory loss linked with heroin often looks gradual rather than sudden.

Short-Term Memory Weakens First

Short-term memory is usually the first to suffer, and it is the easiest to notice in daily life. A person may be told something and forget it within minutes. They may walk into a room and forget why they went there. They may start a sentence and lose the thread halfway through. They may read the same paragraph three times and still not remember what it said. These are small failures, but they happen often, and they add up. A day full of small forgetting is a tiring day, and it leaves the person feeling confused and unsure of themselves.

One reason short-term memory is affected early is that it depends on attention, and heroin weakens attention. To remember something for even a few minutes, you first have to notice it properly. When the brain is slowed by the drug, or restless between doses, attention slips. A conversation passes by without being fully heard. Instructions at work go in one ear and out the other. The person may nod and agree, and then realise a minute later that they have no idea what was said. Family members may think the person is not listening or does not care. In most cases, the person is trying to listen, but their brain is not holding on to the words.

The effect on short-term memory also shows up in simple practical ways. A person may forget a shopping list they made an hour ago, or forget to pass on a message, or forget that they already asked the same question. They may repeat themselves without realising it, or ask the same thing twice in one conversation. These moments are embarrassing, and embarrassment can make a person withdraw from conversation altogether. They may start speaking less, avoiding phone calls, or giving short answers, not because they have nothing to say, but because they are afraid of forgetting what they wanted to say. That withdrawal then makes memory worse, because a mind that is not used in conversation becomes less practised at remembering.

Forgetting Names, Conversations and Appointments

Forgetting names is one of the most upsetting memory problems linked with heroin, because it feels personal. A person may meet someone they have known for years and struggle to recall their name. They may forget the name of a colleague, a neighbour, or even a relative they see regularly. The name is not gone forever. It may come back an hour later, or the next day. But in the moment, it will not come, and the person feels foolish. Over time, they may start avoiding people simply to avoid that moment of blankness, and that avoidance makes life lonelier.

Forgetting recent conversations is closely related, and it can damage relationships. A partner may tell the person something important in the evening, and by the morning the person has no memory of it. A friend may share news, and the person asks about it again as if hearing it for the first time. The friend may feel hurt, thinking their news did not matter. The person may feel confused, because they genuinely do not remember. Neither side understands what is happening, and trust starts to wear thin. It helps to know that this kind of forgetting is a known effect of heavy drug use, not a sign that the person does not value the people around them. But knowing the cause does not undo the hurt, and it is one more reason to seek help early.

Appointments and commitments are often the hardest to keep. A person may agree to a doctor’s visit, a work meeting, or a child’s school event, write it down, and still miss it. Sometimes they forget the date. Sometimes they remember the date but forget the time. Sometimes they remember both and then lose track of the day altogether, because sleep and routine have become so broken. Missing appointments has real consequences: lost work, missed medical care, disappointed children, and a growing sense that the person cannot be relied on. That sense of unreliability then feeds low mood and shame, and shame makes it harder to ask for help. Breaking that circle usually needs support from outside, not just a better diary.

Learning New Things Becomes Harder

Learning depends on memory, attention and the ability to connect new information with what you already know. Heroin weakens all three. A person who once learned a new task at work in a day may now need a week, and still feel unsure. A person studying for a course may read a chapter and remember almost nothing of it the next morning. A person trying to learn a new route, a new phone, or a new system at work may find that the information simply does not stick. The effort is there. The result is not, and that gap is deeply frustrating.

Part of the problem is that learning needs repetition and focus, and heroin use breaks both. Between doses, the mind is restless and uncomfortable, which makes it hard to concentrate on anything new. After a dose, the mind is slowed and foggy, which makes it hard to take information in. There is rarely a clear window when the brain is alert, calm and ready to learn. Over weeks, that means new skills are not built, old skills are not refreshed, and the person falls further behind at work or in study. They may start to believe they are no longer capable of learning, when the real problem is that their brain has not had a fair chance to learn.

There is also the question of motivation. Learning takes energy and a belief that the effort will pay off. When memory keeps failing, that belief fades. A person may stop trying to learn new things, because trying and failing feels worse than not trying at all. That is understandable, but it makes the problem worse. A brain that is not challenged becomes less practised at remembering, and the habit of giving up spreads to other parts of life. Recovery often involves rebuilding the habit of learning slowly, in small steps, with tasks that are short and achievable, so that the person can experience success again. A single small thing learned and remembered can be the start of that rebuilding.

Study, Work and Everyday Tasks Suffer

At work, memory problems show up in ways that colleagues notice before the person does. Tasks are left half-finished. Instructions need to be repeated. Deadlines are missed. A person may start a job in the morning and forget by the afternoon what stage they had reached. They may make mistakes they would never have made before, such as using the wrong materials, forgetting a safety step, or sending the wrong message to a customer. Each mistake adds stress, and stress makes memory worse. The person may work longer hours to make up for lost time, which leaves them more tired, which makes memory weaker still.

For students, the effect is similar and often more visible. Studying needs steady attention over hours, and heroin use breaks that steadiness. A student may sit down to study and find their mind wandering within minutes. They may revise for an exam and forget most of it by the next day. They may miss classes, miss deadlines, and fall behind friends who are moving forward. Teachers may think the student has lost interest, when in fact the student is struggling with a brain that will not hold information. That misunderstanding can lead to the student being written off, which makes it harder for them to get help. Early support, and honest conversation with a teacher or tutor, can make a real difference.

Everyday tasks at home suffer too, and these are often the most tiring, because they never stop. Cooking a meal needs several steps held in mind at once. Paying bills needs dates, amounts and passwords remembered. Looking after children needs constant attention to what has been done and what still needs doing. When memory fails, these tasks become harder and more stressful. A person may leave the stove on, forget to lock the door, or forget to pick up a child from school. Those are frightening moments, and they can shake a person’s confidence badly. It is important to be honest about them, because they show why memory loss is not a minor side effect. It affects safety, work and family life, and it deserves proper help.

Memory Gaps, Fog and Confusion

Many people who use heroin describe their thinking as foggy. It is not a sharp pain or a sudden blank. It is a slow, cloudy feeling, as if the mind is working through thick air. Thoughts come slowly. Words are hard to find. A simple decision, such as what to cook or which bus to take, can feel confusing. The fog is worst when the drug is active and when withdrawal is starting, but it can linger in between as well, leaving the person feeling that their mind is never fully clear. That constant fog is exhausting, and it makes every other memory problem worse.

Memory gaps are different from fog, and they can be more frightening. A gap is a period of time that the person cannot remember at all. They may remember going to a place, and then nothing until hours later. They may be told they said or did something and have no memory of it. Heavy use, especially when mixed with alcohol or other sedatives, increases the risk of these gaps, and they can be dangerous. A person may wander into traffic, fall, or agree to something they would never have agreed to while clear-headed. Gaps are a warning sign that the brain is being seriously affected, and they should never be ignored. Anyone who regularly loses hours of time should speak to a health professional as soon as possible.

Confusion can also appear in the moment, not just in hindsight. A person may become confused about where they are, what day it is, or what they were doing. They may mix up people, places or events. They may start a task and then stand still, unsure what comes next. These moments are distressing for the person and alarming for anyone watching. Confusion that is sudden, severe, or joined by weakness, slurred speech or trouble breathing needs urgent medical attention, because it can signal an overdose or another serious medical problem. Even milder confusion, if it happens often, is a reason to seek help promptly, not to wait and hope it passes.

Memory Over Months and Years of Use

In the early weeks of use, memory problems may seem small and easy to explain away. A forgotten appointment, a name that will not come, a paragraph that needs re-reading. But over months, the pattern becomes harder to ignore. The gaps get wider. Learning takes longer. Work becomes harder. Family members notice that the person repeats questions, forgets promises, and seems less sharp than they used to be. The person may notice it too, and feel frightened by it, but still feel unable to stop. That fear, combined with dependence, is one of the reasons heroin is so hard to leave behind.

Over years, the damage can become more lasting. The brain’s ability to form new memories may remain weaker even after a person stops using, especially if use was heavy and long. That does not mean recovery is impossible. Many people find that their memory improves a great deal after stopping, as sleep returns, nutrition improves, and the brain is no longer slowed by the drug. But the improvement is usually gradual, over months rather than days, and it may not return fully to how it was before. That is an honest message, and it is better to hear it honestly than to be promised a quick fix that does not come.

There are also factors that make long-term memory damage worse. Poor food, broken sleep, low mood, and mixing heroin with alcohol or other drugs all add to the harm. Head injuries from falls while intoxicated can add further damage. On the other hand, the things that help recovery are simple and steady: stopping use with proper support, sleeping regularly, eating properly, keeping a simple routine, and using memory in small daily ways, such as reading, talking, and doing ordinary tasks. None of those steps is dramatic, but together they give the brain the best chance to heal. A person who has used heroin for years is not doomed to a poor memory forever, but they do need time, patience and support to rebuild it.

How Poor Sleep and Low Mood Make Memory Worse

Sleep and memory are closely linked, and heroin disturbs sleep in ways that make remembering much harder. The brain uses sleep, especially deep sleep, to sort the day’s experiences and store the important ones as lasting memories. When sleep is broken, that sorting does not happen properly. A person may live through a full day and still remember very little of it the next morning, not because the day was unimportant, but because the brain never had a proper night to file it away. Heroin use often breaks sleep in two directions at once: heavy, drowsy sleep after a dose, and restless, wakeful hours during withdrawal. Neither is the steady, restful sleep the brain needs, and over weeks, the lack of it leaves memory weaker every day.

Low mood adds to the problem in its own way. When a person feels low, flat or hopeless, they pay less attention to what is happening around them. They may sit through a conversation without really hearing it, or walk through a day without noticing much of it. Attention is the first step of memory, and low mood weakens attention. A person who is low may also stop doing the things that keep memory active: talking with friends, reading, going out, working on a task. Days become similar and empty, and when days are similar, there is less to remember and less reason to try. The result is a circle: low mood weakens memory, weak memory makes daily life harder, and a harder life deepens low mood.

Poor food makes the circle tighter still. Heroin can take away appetite, and many people who use it regularly eat far too little, or eat at odd hours, or live on tea and snacks instead of proper meals. The brain needs regular food to work well, and a body that is hungry and tired cannot remember clearly. Weight loss, weakness and feeling unwell all add stress, and stress itself harms memory. It is easy to see each of these problems on its own, sleep, mood, food, and miss how they work together. In truth, they feed each other, and that is why memory problems linked with heroin are rarely caused by one single thing. They are the result of a whole daily life that has been pulled out of shape by the drug, and they improve best when that daily life is put back into shape, step by step, with proper support.

My Take:

I will be honest with you. Memory loss is the part of heroin that I find most quietly cruel, because it takes away the things that make a person who they are. Your memories are how you know your family, your work, your past and your plans. When they start to slip, you do not just lose facts. You lose confidence. You lose the feeling that you can rely on your own mind. A person who forgets a name, or a promise, or an appointment, may look careless from the outside. From the inside, they are often frightened, because they can feel their own mind letting them down and they do not know how to stop it. I think that fear deserves far more understanding than it usually gets.

What troubles me most is how easy it is to miss this damage until it is serious. Nobody wakes up one morning with their memory gone. It goes a little at a time. A forgotten conversation this month, a missed appointment next month, a task at work that takes twice as long as it used to. Each small change is easy to explain away: tiredness, stress, a bad night’s sleep. But the small changes add up, and by the time the pattern is obvious, months or years have passed. I would ask families to trust the pattern, not the single incident. If someone you love is slowly becoming more forgetful, more confused and less able to learn new things, that slow change matters, even if no one day looks like a crisis.

I think the fog is the part people understand least. When I read about it, I imagine trying to think through thick air, where every thought arrives slowly and every word is hard to find. That is not laziness. It is a brain that is being slowed by a drug and starved of sleep and oxygen. A person living in that fog cannot simply try harder and think clearly. Telling them to concentrate is like telling a person with a broken leg to run faster. It misses the cause entirely. What they need is help to stop using, and time for the fog to lift. And the fog does lift, slowly, when the drug is gone. That is worth saying clearly, because a person living in fog needs to know that clarity is possible, not just that their mind is broken.

Forgetting names is something I keep returning to, because it feels so personal. A name is a small thing, but it carries a relationship. When you cannot remember the name of someone you know well, it feels like you have failed them, even though you have not. I think people who use heroin often carry that shame silently. They avoid people, they give short answers, they stop going to gatherings, all to avoid the moment when a name will not come. That avoidance then makes life smaller and lonelier, and loneliness makes memory worse. It is a painful circle, and I think the way out of it starts with kindness, not with blame. If someone forgets your name, or repeats a question, or misses an appointment, try to remember that their brain is struggling, not that they do not care. That single shift in how you respond can keep a door open that blame would close.

Learning is another part I feel strongly about. A person who cannot learn new things is not stupid. They are a person whose brain has not had a fair chance to learn, because attention is broken, sleep is broken, and the drug keeps slowing everything down. I think about students and workers who fall behind and are written off as uninterested, when in fact they are fighting a brain that will not hold information. That labelling does real harm, because it takes away the help they need. If a student is struggling to remember what they studied, or a worker needs instructions repeated, the first question should not be whether they are trying hard enough. It should be whether something is affecting their brain, and what support would help. That question is kinder, and it is also more honest.

I am also honest about the fact that memory does not always come back fully, and I do not want to pretend otherwise. After months or years of heavy use, some damage may remain, even after a person stops. Sleep improves, appetite returns, and thinking becomes clearer, but the memory may never be exactly as sharp as it was before. I think it is better to say that plainly than to promise a full recovery that may not come. But I also think it is important to say that improvement is real and common. Most people who stop find that their memory gets better over months, and that small daily steps, reading, talking, keeping a routine, help it keep improving. A memory that is not perfect is still a memory worth rebuilding, and every small improvement matters in daily life.

Children are affected by this in ways that are easy to overlook. A child does not understand why a parent forgets a school event, or repeats the same question, or cannot remember a promise. They only see that the parent is not reliable, and they may start to feel that they do not matter. Older children may take on extra responsibility, remembering things for the parent, keeping track of appointments, looking after younger siblings. That is a heavy burden for a young person, and it can affect their own learning and confidence. I do not say this to blame parents. A parent whose memory is failing because of heroin is often frightened and ashamed, and blame makes it harder for them to seek help. I say it because children need support too, and the earlier a family gets help, the better it is for everyone.

For families, my advice is simple: do not try to fix this alone, and do not rely on reminders and diaries to solve a problem that belongs to the drug. A diary can help a person remember an appointment, but it cannot fix a brain that is being slowed by heroin. What helps is proper support: a doctor, a drug support service, a family support group, and a plan for stopping that is safe. I would also say to families to look after their own memory of what is happening. Keep notes, not to use as evidence in an argument, but so that you can describe the pattern clearly to a health professional. A clear description, that forgetting has grown over months, that appointments are missed, that learning has become harder, helps a professional understand the problem far better than a single example.

I think setbacks deserve an honest word too. Recovery is rarely a straight line. A person may stop, feel their memory improving, and then use again in a stressful moment and find the fog returning. That feels like a failure, and shame can make them give up entirely. I do not see it that way. A setback shows where the hard moments are, and what support was missing. It is information, and it can make the next attempt stronger. If someone you love has had a setback, the most helpful response is a calm question about what happened, not anger or despair. Anger closes the door. A calm question keeps it open, and an open door is what a person who is struggling needs most.

Finally, I would say this to anyone reading who uses heroin and has noticed their memory slipping: that slipping is not who you are. It is what the drug is doing to your brain, and it can improve. You do not need to feel ready or strong. You only need to take one step towards help: a phone call, a visit to a doctor, a conversation with a support service. You may have tried before and found it hard. That does not mean you cannot succeed. Most people who recover have tried more than once, and each attempt teaches them something about what helps. Your memory matters, because it holds your family, your work and your life. Asking for help is not weakness. It is the moment when you start taking your mind back from a drug that has been borrowing it, day after day, without giving anything back.

I also think about the simple, practical side of living with a poor memory, because it is the part that wears people down day after day. It is not only the big things, like missing a job interview or forgetting a medical appointment, although those matter. It is the hundred small things: the keys that cannot be found, the shopping list left at home, the message that was never passed on, the birthday that was forgotten, the stove that was left on. Each small failure is a small embarrassment, and a day full of them leaves a person feeling incompetent. I think families should know that those small failures are not carelessness. They are symptoms, and they deserve the same patience as any other symptom of a health problem. A calm reminder is worth far more than an angry lecture about something the person genuinely cannot remember.

There is one more thing I want to say about help, because I think it is the most important part of this article. Memory problems linked with heroin do not get better by trying harder, buying a better diary, or setting more alarms on a phone. Those tools can help with the symptoms, and I would not dismiss them, but they cannot fix a brain that is being slowed by a drug. What fixes the cause is stopping use with proper medical and social support, and then giving the brain time to heal. That support exists in most places: doctors, drug services, family support groups, talking therapies. Using them is not a sign of weakness. It is the sensible, practical step, the same as seeing a doctor for any other serious health problem. I would urge anyone who recognises themselves in this article to take that step, even if they do not feel ready. You do not need to feel ready. You only need to make the call.

I also want to speak directly to families who are keeping notes, reminding, covering up missed appointments, and quietly carrying the memory for someone else. That work is tiring, and it is often invisible. You may feel that you are the only one holding things together, and in some ways, you are. But you should not have to hold them together alone. You need support too, and you deserve it. A family support group, a conversation with a health professional, or even a trusted friend who understands, can make the burden lighter. Setting boundaries is part of that support, not a failure of love. You can love someone deeply and still say that you cannot keep covering for missed work, or missed bills, or missed school events. That boundary protects you, and it also tells the person, honestly, that the problem is serious and needs proper help.

Finally, I want to end on the honest hope that runs through this whole subject. Memory is precious, and heroin damages it in ways that are serious and painful. But the brain is also able to recover, slowly, when the drug is gone and daily life becomes steadier. Sleep returns. Food returns. Conversation returns. And with them, small memories start to return too: a name remembered, an appointment kept, a task finished, a story told without losing the thread. Those small returns are not dramatic, but they are real, and they grow over months. If you are living with this damage, or loving someone who is, do not give up on those small returns. They are the sign that the brain is healing, and they are worth working for, one day and one small step at a time.

And if you are the person whose memory is slipping, I want you to hear one last thing clearly. You are not losing yourself. You are living with a drug that is borrowing your mind, and you can take it back. The road is slow, and some days will feel like no progress at all. But every week without the drug is a week when your brain can rest, sleep properly, and start filing memories away again. That is worth more than any promise the drug ever made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Heroin really cause slower recall under pressure?

Yes. Heroin slows the brain and weakens attention, which makes it harder to take in new information and recall it when it is needed. Under pressure, such as at work or in an exam, the problem often feels worse, because stress also affects memory. The effect is most noticeable with regular use over weeks and months, and it tends to grow as use continues. It is not a sign of low intelligence, but a known effect of the drug on the brain systems that form and recall memories.

Is slower recall under pressure from Heroin dangerous?

It can be, because poor memory affects safety as well as work and study. A person may forget a safety step at work, leave a stove on at home, forget to take important medicine, or forget an appointment for medical care. Memory gaps can also be dangerous if a person loses track of where they are or what they were doing. Anyone who is regularly forgetting important things, or who loses hours of time, should speak to a qualified health professional promptly, and should not drive or operate machinery while affected.

What should I do if Heroin is causing forgetting appointments?

The most important step is to seek help to stop using heroin, because reminders and diaries alone cannot fix a brain that is being slowed by the drug. A doctor or a local drug support service can help make a safe plan for stopping, and can also check whether other health problems are adding to the memory trouble. In the meantime, simple routines can help: one diary or phone calendar, regular sleep and meals, and asking a trusted person to remind you of important dates. But those are supports, not a solution on their own.

How soon can slower recall under pressure appear after using Heroin?

Short-term memory and attention can be affected within hours of a dose, because heroin slows the brain while it is active. The lasting problems, such as regularly forgetting conversations, names and appointments, usually build up over weeks and months of regular use. The timing varies from person to person, and it depends on how often the drug is used, whether it is mixed with alcohol or other drugs, and on sleep, food and general health. There is no safe period after which memory damage is guaranteed not to happen.

Who is most at risk of a mind that feels foggy from Heroin?

Anyone who uses heroin regularly can develop foggy thinking, but the risk is higher for people who use often or in larger amounts, people who mix heroin with alcohol or other sedatives, and people who already have poor sleep, poor nutrition or other health problems. Older people and people who have had a head injury may also be more affected. The fog is often worst during heavy use and during withdrawal, but it can linger between doses as well. Anyone worried about persistent fog or confusion should speak to a health professional.

Does forgetting recent conversations from Heroin go away after stopping?

For many people, memory improves after stopping, but it takes time. Sleep usually becomes more regular, appetite returns, and the brain is no longer slowed by the drug, so short-term recall and attention often get better over weeks and months. The improvement is gradual, and it may not return fully to how it was before, especially after long or heavy use. Small daily habits, such as regular sleep, proper meals, reading and conversation, can help memory keep improving. Ongoing support from a health professional is the best way to track that recovery.

Sources

• National Institute on Drug Abuse — https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/heroin
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — https://www.dea.gov/drug-information
• Mayo Clinic, Drug addiction — https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
• World Health Organization, Substance abuse — https://www.who.int/health-topics/substance-abuse
• NHS, Drug addiction: getting help — https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/addiction-support/drug-addiction-getting-help/

This article is general information only. It is not medical advice. If you are worried about your health or about someone else, speak to a qualified health professional.