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Heroin / 6-MAM

Opioidiv · inferred

Diacetylmorphine (heroin) is a prodrug with an extremely short half-life (~6 min), rapidly deacetylated to 6-MAM (~38 min half-life), then to morphine. 6-MAM is the unique heroin biomarker; it is only detectable in urine for ~8 hours post-dose. Morphine persists for 2-3 days.

Projected serum levels — 10 mg, as needed (shown daily)

Heroin / 6-MAM (precursor)
Heroin / 6-MAM modeled serum levels, 10 mg as needed (shown daily) over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 7 days. 0 12.5 25 37.5 50 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 7

Maintenance schedule: 10 mg as needed (shown daily) (iv).

Modeled steady state after ~7 days: peak ≈ 0 mg, trough ≈ 0 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 10 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Opioid
Route modeled
IV
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
22 min
Common dose
10 mg
Reference dose range
5–20 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
as needed (shown daily)

Documented interactions

  • danger
    1,4-BDO (1,4-Butanediol) + Heroin / 6-MAM Contraindicated

    1,4-BDO converts to GHB; heroin is a potent opioid agonist. Combined respiratory depression is frequently fatal and offset timing makes overdose nearly impossible to titrate around.

  • danger
    7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) + Heroin / 6-MAM Stacked effects

    7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and Heroin / 6-MAM both push the delta opioid, kappa opioid, and mu opioid in the same direction.

  • danger
    Cocaine + Heroin / 6-MAM Contraindicated

    Speedball: stimulant masks opioid sedation, leading to accidental overdose when cocaine wears off first. Extreme cardiac and respiratory risk.

  • danger
    Codeine + Heroin / 6-MAM Contraindicated

    Combining opioids causes additive respiratory depression.

  • danger
    Ethanol (Alcohol) + Heroin / 6-MAM Contraindicated

    Alcohol potentiates opioid respiratory depression. Heroin is already extremely high-risk for overdose.

  • danger
    Fentanyl (IV/Nasal/Buccal — Non-Patch) + Heroin / 6-MAM Stacked effects

    Fentanyl (IV/Nasal/Buccal — Non-Patch) and Heroin / 6-MAM both push the delta opioid, kappa opioid, and mu opioid in the same direction.

Serum checks 48 modeled interaction pairings for heroin / 6-mam across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of High Doses of Pharmaceutically Prepared Heroin, by Intravenous or by Inhalation Route in Opioid-Dependent Patients Rook EJ et al. · Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 2006 DOI

    Characterized heroin and 6-MAM pharmacokinetics in opioid-dependent patients, showing heroin half-life of 2-6 minutes with rapid conversion to 6-MAM as the dominant compound in the first 30 minutes.

  2. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacokinetic Variability of Heroin and Its Metabolites: Review of the Literature Rook EJ et al. · Current Clinical Pharmacology, 2006 DOI

    Comprehensive review of heroin pharmacokinetics across administration routes, detailing rapid esterase-mediated deacetylation to 6-MAM (half-life 6-25 min) and subsequent conversion to morphine.

  3. 6-Monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM), Not Morphine, Is Responsible for the Rapid Neural Effects Induced by Intravenous Heroin Gottas A et al. · ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2019 DOI

    Demonstrated that 6-MAM, not morphine, mediates the rapid neural effects of IV heroin due to its higher brain permeability and rapid formation from heroin metabolism.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.