The final product
Various shades of No. 3 heroin
No. 3 Heroin
No. 3 heroin is granular in form, the diameter of the granules varying between 1 and 4 mm. It is normally light brown or grey in colour, depend- ing on the technique employed by the chemist producing it. In some in- stances a colouring matter is added, and it is known that a strong tea infusion has been used to colour the final product.
In addition to heroin itself, No. 3 heroin contains a number of other substances which can be classified as follows:
Diluents Caffeine
Caffeine is invariably the major con- stituent. Small clusters of white caffeine can often be seen with the naked eye in inadequately mixed mate- rial. Caffeine readily sublimes when heated and for this reason is a suitable diluent for the addict who consumes heroin by inhalation.
Barbitone
A type of heroin known locally as 'Red Chicken' was frequently encountered before 1969, when it disappeared from the local market. This product was dyed red and in addition to caffeine it contained approximately 50 per cent sodium barbitone (sodium diethyl bar- biturate). Barbitone is still occasionally found at heroin factories.
Additives
A variety of compounds have been used as additives to No. 3 heroin. The reason for the use of these sub- stances has never been established, although it is believed that their origin lies in the early manufacture of heroin pills. It is thought that they give a distinctive flavour to the heroin. The amounts added are small, usually accounting for one to five per cent of the final product. The most common additives are strychnine (hydrochloride or nitrate), quinine hydrochloride and scopolamine hydrobromide, and the majority of illicit manufacturers will add all three of these chemicals to their product.
'Red chicken'
Other compounds which have been detected in No. 3 heroin are:
Amidopyrine
Aspirin
Dichlorophenazone
Ephedrine hydrochloride
Novacaine
Paracetamol
Physostigmine salicylate
Phenacetin
Quinine ethyl carbonate Impurities of Manufacture Monoacetyl Morphine Hydochloride There are two monoacetyl morphines which may be present in illicit heroin. One of the two, 6-monoacetyl morphine, is often present in signi- ficant amounts in No. 3 heroin. The 6-monoacetyl morphine is produced either by the presence of water during the acetylation process or by hydro- lysis of the diacetylmorphine. Samples have been examined where the diacetyl- morphine has been completely hydro- lysed to a mixture of monoacetyl morphine and morphine. It is not uncommon for samples of heroin to smell of acetic acid due to the dete- rioration of the diacetylmorphine to its hydrolysis products.
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