How would heroin use affect a male in his mid-20s suffering from schizophrenia?

Christopher

I'd have to think long and hard before I could come up with an individual for whom heroin use would be more ill-advised than someone with schizophrenia. In other words, heroin -- or any narcotic or hallucinogenic or recreational drug -- would be a very poor choice for anyone with schizophrenia.

Why? Well, an individual with schizophrenia (or one of the schizophrenias -- it's really not a single phenomenon) probably has a tenuous grasp on reality. In addition to episodic hallucinations or delusions, he or she may also have difficulty engaging in or interacting with the world and in relationships with other people. His or her emotional state may seem blunted or withdrawn. Why induce a chemically altered state that would almost certainly make those characteristics worse?

A narcotic such as heroin could send the schizophrenic individual into a dreamy state in which his or her tether to reality could snap. While I don't necessarily think such a psychotic episode would be permanent, his or her actions during the psychotic state could cause long-lasting harm to self or others. Why chance it?

There's also no telling how heroin or other recreational drugs might interact with the prescription antipsychotic medication that helps control symptoms of the disorder in many schizophrenic individuals. And -- oh, yeah -- heroin is illegal, which can result in nasty conflicts with the law.

All in all, not a good choice for a person with schizophrenia -- or anyone else, for that matter.