And this leads us to our final topic, getting high..

Getting high:

YES, it IS possible to get high off of bupe. In France they have a HUGE problem with bupe being used illicitly, where they use bupe in abundance. Heroin has virtually dissapeared and bupe has become the street opioid you are likely to find. Heroin does exist there, don't get me wrong, but Subutex seems to be far more popular (VERIFY.) I can't tell you exactly how they do it, I wish I knew myself. I can tell you that they sniff or bang it. Do NOT sniff or bang Suboxone, you will get very sick.

There have been 120-something or so deaths from bupe in France. Almost always the bupe was banged, and also almost always mixed with another drug, usually a benzo.

It should be noted that respiratory depression is increased when the drug is injected. This shows that injection probably increases the euphoria aspect of buprenorphine.

The euphoric aspect of Buprenorphine appears to be increased by injection/sniffing. The drug IS highly lipophillic, which means it rushes the brain like heroin (and theoretically should provide a rush if not for it's partial agonist nature,) however, and also due to it's partial agonist nature (?), it has a very long onset of action, of approximately 100 minutes to peak effects.

I feel 100% confident in saying that bupe works just fine for getting opioid nieve individuals high. It's quite potent in that case, actually. The downside is it's long onset of action, which can take 1-2 hours if taken SL. In this case, a dose from 0.2mg to 1mg SL works wonders, however even in opioid nieve individuals overdose is difficult. Don't try it out, though! People HAVE died, and it will most likely be unpleasant at an extremely high dose. If you don't have a tolerance, 0.2mg SL should be your first dose. And give it time!

I am *NOT*, nor will I *EVER*, say bupe is superior to a full agonist for getting high.

A personal report of getting high on 0.3mg via IV in an opioid tolerant/non-dependent individual: http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?

He compares it to Vicodin and Xanax all rolled into one, mild (without the rush, nod, or intense euphoria), yet glorious. This is just one account, however, and is far from what you will experience if you try.

Another one:

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php3?ID=13581

This one uses Temgesic 0.2mg SL tabs. He had a very strong reaction to the 1mg he took the first time, and enjoyed the rest of the bottle of 30, taking only one at a time. He takes them SL, as they are designed for.

Getting high while on buprenorphine is difficult to say the least. The drug can work with a fairly similar efficacy to oral Naltexone in blocking opioid agonists. See the "48 hour rule" in Buprenorphine vs. Methadone for further information.

This FAQ, while comprehensive for buprenorphine (USA), is meant to focus on maintenance, not recreation.

Bibliography:

G Fischer, P Etzersdorfer, H Eder, R Jagsch, M Langer, M Weninger (1998). Buprenorphine Maintenance in Pregnant Opioid Addicts. European Addiction Research;4(suppl 1):32-36

Miller W; Hussain F; Shan S; Hachicha M; Kyle D; Valenzano K J (2001). In Vitro pharmacological profile of buprenorphine at mu, kappa, delta, and ORL-1 receptors.

(1) Dum JE, Herz A. In vivo receptor binding of the opiate partial agonist, buprenorphine, correlated with its agonistic and antagonistic actions. Br J Pharmacol. 1981; 74:627-33.Heel RC, Brogden RN, Speight TM et al. Buprenorphine: a review of its pharmacological properties and therapeutic efficacy. Drugs. 1979; 17:81-110. (IDIS 121541)Kareti S, Moreton JE, Khazan N. Effects of buprenorphine, a new narcotic agonist-antagonist analgesic on the EEG, power spectrum and behavior of the rat. Neuropharmacology. 1980; 19:195-201.Sadée W, Richards ML, Grevel J et al. In vivo characterization of four types of opioid binding sites in rat brain. Life Sci. 1983; 33:187-9.

Negus SS, Bidlack JM, Mello NK, Furness MS, Rice KC, Brandt MR. (2002?) Delta opioid antagonist effects of buprenorphine in rhesus monkeys.

Huang P, Kehner GB, Cowan A, Liu-Chen LY (2001) Comparison of Pharmacological Activities of Buprenorphine and Norbuprenorphine: Norbuprenorphine Is a Potent Opioid Agonist J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2001 May 1; 297(2):688-695

Buprenex full prescribing information (USA)

Subutex/Suboxone full prescribing information (USA)

To be continued...

Copyright 2002 Nephalim

This document may be distributed only with permission from the author

 Contact Information: Email: [email protected]

Feel free to email with any (non-insulting) comments at all. I'd love to hear from you. Also feel free to share your experiences. I am looking forward to making a more complete collection of personal experiences with BMT.

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