Legal warning : Heroin

It is illegal to manufacture, possess, or sell heroin in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom and Swaziland. However, under the name diamorphine, heroin is a legal prescription drug in the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, heroin is available for prescription as the generic drug diacetylmorphine to long-term heroin addicts. Popular street names for heroin include black tar, smack, junk, skag, horse, dope, chiva, "H", "Boy", and others.

In the United States, heroin is a schedule I drug according to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, making it illegal to possess without a DEA license. Possession of more than 100 gram of heroin or a mixture containing heroin is punishable with a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years of imprisonment in a federal prison.

Conviction for trafficking in heroin carries the death penalty in most South-east Asia and some East Asia and Middle Eastern countries, among which Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are the most strict.