Opioids Smoking Opiates

[iamthesuck]

I'm referring to the naturally occurring alkaloids here. I don't understand the difference in smoking salt v freebase. Apparently a lot of the morphine in poppies is a salt, but I've heard that salt forms of heroin and cocaine (for example) arent good for smoking. I'm stumped. If they're salts, then smoking opium means smoking salt forms of the alkaloids. Any insight would be helpful - if you were going to smoke poppy extract or latex, would it be better to basify it first? Any insight would be helpful.

 

[Speed King]

People used plain opium for years. Not complicated.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

An alkaloid is a compound that can react with an acid to form a salt (acid + base = salt + water). If naturally occurring morphine was in salt form it wouldn't be called an alkaloid.

Having said that, it's possible there may be some acids present in poppies that react with the morphine to form a salt, but I doubt its a significant amount - though I may be wrong.