Harm Reduction Micron Filtering Mega Thread and FAQ

[sweetstufflover]

Don't use insulin syringes. Actually, you CAN, but normal syringes (I use the German "Braun Injekt 2ml" or the "Braun Discardit 2ml" or the "Braun Omnifix 2ml" with G27 needles --> 20x0,4 millimetres).

A G29 insulin rig damages your veins more than a G27 "normal" needle that's meant for IVing. Insulin rigs are for S.C. injecting.

I don't want to flame on anybody here, many users use insulin rigs for decades and still have some veins intact, but then you have to use a perfect technic. Using IV-needles and 2ml syringes (two parts --> insulin syringes are only one part in my country, so the needle can't be changed).

I usually prepare my oxycontin in a spoon or in a cup. Just crush it to a fine powder, put in cup or on spoon, add water, stir, filter with cotton, squirt through micron filter --> through needle --> into new, sterile syringe with plunger pulled back. Equip the freshly filled new syringe with a sterile needle and blast that sh*t the f*ck away.

I use my micron filters for 2-3 days, then I throw them away. I recommend this to everyone here. You can save money by reusing your micron filters for 2-3 days.
Advantages:
-you don't need to prepare your shots in advance, so you don't need bacteriostatic water or any benzyl alcohol
-you can prepare your shots whenever you want
-after 3 days, just throw the filter-rig away and use a new one, that saves money.

With one micron filter, I filter about 1,5 grams of oxycodone, contained in oxycontin (80mg tablets). In 2ml, I dissolve about 50mg. That's 60ml that I filter with one micron filter.

Before I use a new micron filter, I wash it with about 20-30ml of cold tap water (I always use cold tap water from the bath room for shooting up). Just squirt the water through the filter, repeat it XX times until you've reached the 20-30ml mark. I do this because of the chemical taste that the solution has after filtering it with a NEW filter. The membrane is some sort of synthetic/organic (I think). I feel much more save when I do this. I have already noticed crystallization of something unknown in my shots that I prepared in advance. I must be something from the filter. When I wash my filters with 30ml of water, I don't get this.

I also look out for the expiring date of my filters. My new bought filters' (bought today for 1,70 Euro each one, 10 filters bought) expiring date is february 2013. When you use filters that expire in just a few months, it's possible that that crystallization shit appears, or that the filter doesn't filter properly anymore. Believe me, I've got plenty of experience with those things.

One last tip: Use micron filters for EVERYTHING you shoot up. Cocaine, crack, heroin in all its forms (yes, why not micron-filtering black tar heroin, when you shoot it up anyways? won't hurt so filter it), pills of any kind (all sorts of opioids, benzos...). Just filter it. It will get clear, talc is removed, microcristalline cellulose is removed PARTLY, not entirely, but at least some of it is filtered out. I read about 0,05µm filters somewhere, they filter out pretty much everything, even MCC. But the 0,2µm filters are also great and the best ones to obtain by the common drug user.

Micron filtering may save you from losing limbs, having a stroke, heart attack and all the fucking shit that can happen to I.V. junkies because of bad filtering (cotton filtering doesn't do the job, doesn't matter how often you filter!).

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Don't use insulin syringes. Actually, you CAN, but normal syringes (I use the German "Braun Injekt 2ml" or the "Braun Discardit 2ml" or the "Braun Omnifix 2ml" with G27 needles --> 20x0,4 millimetres).

A G29 insulin rig damages your veins more than a G27 "normal" needle that's meant for IVing. Insulin rigs are for S.C. injecting.

Insulin syringes can also be used for IM injections and IV injections. They work just fine for me, I still have all of my veins.

Smaller gauges are better for your veins by the way.

The only reason why luer lock syringes and needles would have an advantage is if you don't always necessarily successfully puncture the vein on the first attempt. If you are effective at IVing, insulin syringes work just fine.

 

[sweetstufflover]

That's what I meant. I said that you must use a proper IV technic when you use insulin rigs. That's all. Of course you can use them.

G27 needles are pretty small. In my country, they are the smallest needles available for "normal" people. I know that there are even G30+ needles, but the G27 work fine for me. Furhtermore, insulin rigs are pretty expensive (10 rigs for 3 Euros, while 10 normal syringes with needles cost about 1 Euro at the pharmacy; when ordered only, 100 syringes and 100 needles cost 5 Euros, that's about 7 dollars!)

 

[shoolameet]

I have a quick question. I know IVing sub without microns is really not smart, but I don't have access to them and I live with my mom so if I order them she will open the package and be like "what the fuck is this?!"

If I double filter with cotton and don't miss is it still really that bad to IV? (Btw I have subutex, not suboxone.) What sort of dangers am I looking at if I don't use a micron and I do it just once? Is there anything safer that I could use instead of cotton that would filter better excluding microns that I can find around the house or locally in a store?

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[gibby_420]

From what I've heard, Suboxone should definitely run through a 0.2um micron filter. I don't remember specifically which one of the binders is the problem, but I have read many horror stories about banging improperly filtered Suboxone.

Captain Heroin should be able to help you out with this issue.

 

[shoolameet]

Yea, he is basically the one I am hoping will answer. I double filtered and was super careful about missing. Btw, its not suboxone, it's subutex... dunno if that makes any difference.

I feel like a hypocrite cause I am worried about HR, but when I am desperate for a rush/high I throw all that care out the window, ya know?

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I have a quick question. I know IVing sub without microns is really not smart, but I don't have access to them and I live with my mom so if I order them she will open the package and be like "what the fuck is this?!"

If I double filter with cotton and don't miss is it still really that bad to IV? (Btw I have subutex, not suboxone.) What sort of dangers am I looking at if I don't use a micron and I do it just once? Is there anything safer that I could use instead of cotton that would filter better excluding microns that I can find around the house or locally in a store?

Thanks for your help guys.

Subutex and Suboxone both have the same inactive ingredients that are potentially harmful, for example, corn starch.

Filtering infinitely with compacted cotton still won't remove corn starch, though it is a good idea to use a cotton filter to remove insoluble inactives.

I believe compacted cotton has the smallest pores, I'm not sure of anything that would do a better job than it, excluding micron filters.

You can get a P.O. Box, this is the easiest solution.

 

[sweetstufflover]

So this guy can't buy micron filters because he lives with his mom? Dude, you need to order them. I mean, is it worth the risk of not-micron-filtering your solution just to keep it a secret?! I'd order them immediately if you IV, it's necessary IMO. I'd not be afraid of my mom opening the package. You could wait for it and get it before she gets her hands on it. Just tell her not to open your package that will arrive in a few days, because it's private. Say it's a book and some special sized condoms. If you can't talk about sex with your mommy, then, my friend, something is really really wrong.

I just want the best for all the IVers when I say that micron filters are absolutely necessary for IVing. It reduces the risk of IVing sooo much, it's great. Filtering with cotton (several times!!!) produces a clear solution when you don't look closely. When you look closely and hold the loaded rig into the light (pull and push the plunger some millimetres up and down!), you will see some very fine "dust" or very very tiny particles floating in the solution. They are so many, they are uncountable and are everywhere in the solution. You CAN'T get these particles out WITHOUT a micron-filter!!! You can IV solutions like this some times, but it's not safe enough for long-term use. I strongly suggest getting micron filters. Just use one for 2-3 days to prepare your shots, then use a fresh one. Works well.

Subutex/Subuxone is a whore to IV here in Austria/Germany.

But if you really can't get a micron-filter (which isn't the truth, everybody who can afford drugs can buy micron-filters, EVERYBODY!), the end of a q-tip is the most-pressed cotton I could find. A simple cotton ball is used for pre-filtering, then filter 3 times with 3 new ends of q-tips. Suck the solution up very very slowly, so that no binders/fillers are sucked up (actually, enough of them will be sucked up anyways, but the slower you filter, the better, because the less fillers in your rig, the better) and that the cotton can filter properly.

I can't understand people who hope for the needle to stop particles to reach the bloodstream. I mean, that's extremely dangerous. Do something for yourself and buy micron-filters, or at least filter several times and look for particles by holding your rig into the light. Be careful and if there are visible particles in your rig (not speaking of the fine dust that's in your rig when you don't micron-filter, I guess it's talc and micro-cristalline-cellulose), don't shoot it. Squirt it onto a fresh spoon, use a new syringe (or clean the one you wanted to used very properly!) and re-filter. Don't shoot it thinking "Oh, I won't get a stroke because of that one particle... I can't imagine something terrible happening to me, that won't happen...". Usually, people push the plunger down and the only thing they think when something goes wrong is "NO, NO!!!! I'm such an idiot, I'm such an idiot!!! WHY DID I DO THIS?!". I know some people who got some serious problems because of injecting particles, and I got driven to hospital because of coke overdoses... the only thing you think when you realize that something went wrong is "NO! Why did I do this? I'm an idiot.". Everytime. I always thought this.

So be careful. Take care of your life, you got only one.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

cool how-to. it's definitely a failure of Harm Reduction on a grand scale that these things aren't more readily available. they should be included in every major pharmacy (Walgreens, CVS, etc.), more especially if that site participates in a state-wide syringe program (like ESAP here in NY), and at syringe exchange program sites (UK offers them?).

NOT JUST ONLINE.

I definitely agree! It is a shame that people have to buy these online (in the United States). Apparently in the UK and Australia, some exchanges carry them (I have never been to these countries, I can't confirm or deny this, but this is what residents of these countries have said on Bluelight).

Sadly there aren't even any needle exchange programs in my state, you can throw away used insulin syringes in a container labeled "Home sharps" (this is all you have to do according to our state law) - I think that this is a tragedy that we aren't doing more to safely dispose of insulin syringes, and supplying new ones to all people who need them.

 

[SeaDoc]

Thanks... for sure the nylon one were horrible for suboxone. At this rate I am spending all my time looking for filters, fortunately I found some today. Geesh.. trying to stay healthy is getting harder. This guy on ebay told me he had filters that were non-sterile but that I could sterilize them in an autoclave (like I just happen to have one of those around here)... or an oven. Wouldn't they melt, they are plastic, right??? Why are these filters getting so scare? Anyone else having the same trouble?

I just sterilize the male end of mine with isopropanol. The female end doesn't really matter as long as you don't contaminate it with < 0.22um particles. The last layer of the micron filter will filter anything > 0.22um out (includes all bacteria, hair, blood, talc, etc).

I definitely wouldn't use temperature to sterilize a micron filter, the plastic could melt like you suspected.

OR, you could try it out on one of the worthless nylon ones! That way you could see if it's going to melt (and if a nylon one melts does it matter? )

Best of luck!

This is from the Millepore website/Durapore Cartridge data page:

Sterilization:        6 autoclave or SIP cycles of 30 min @ 123 °C

So apparently they can take 123°C for 30 minutes. I noticed slightly different instructions for some of the other products; but, temps were the same as or close to this one. So, if one has access to an autoclave, it would seem that you can sterilize them this way.

SeaDoc

 

[shoolameet]

So this guy can't buy micron filters because he lives with his mom? Dude, you need to order them. I mean, is it worth the risk of not-micron-filtering your solution just to keep it a secret?! I'd order them immediately if you IV, it's necessary IMO. I'd not be afraid of my mom opening the package. You could wait for it and get it before she gets her hands on it. Just tell her not to open your package that will arrive in a few days, because it's private. Say it's a book and some special sized condoms. If you can't talk about sex with your mommy, then, my friend, something is really really wrong.

I just want the best for all the IVers when I say that micron filters are absolutely necessary for IVing. It reduces the risk of IVing sooo much, it's great. Filtering with cotton (several times!!!) produces a clear solution when you don't look closely. When you look closely and hold the loaded rig into the light (pull and push the plunger some millimetres up and down!), you will see some very fine "dust" or very very tiny particles floating in the solution. They are so many, they are uncountable and are everywhere in the solution. You CAN'T get these particles out WITHOUT a micron-filter!!! You can IV solutions like this some times, but it's not safe enough for long-term use. I strongly suggest getting micron filters. Just use one for 2-3 days to prepare your shots, then use a fresh one. Works well.

Subutex/Subuxone is a whore to IV here in Austria/Germany.

But if you really can't get a micron-filter (which isn't the truth, everybody who can afford drugs can buy micron-filters, EVERYBODY!), the end of a q-tip is the most-pressed cotton I could find. A simple cotton ball is used for pre-filtering, then filter 3 times with 3 new ends of q-tips. Suck the solution up very very slowly, so that no binders/fillers are sucked up (actually, enough of them will be sucked up anyways, but the slower you filter, the better, because the less fillers in your rig, the better) and that the cotton can filter properly.

I can't understand people who hope for the needle to stop particles to reach the bloodstream. I mean, that's extremely dangerous. Do something for yourself and buy micron-filters, or at least filter several times and look for particles by holding your rig into the light. Be careful and if there are visible particles in your rig (not speaking of the fine dust that's in your rig when you don't micron-filter, I guess it's talc and micro-cristalline-cellulose), don't shoot it. Squirt it onto a fresh spoon, use a new syringe (or clean the one you wanted to used very properly!) and re-filter. Don't shoot it thinking "Oh, I won't get a stroke because of that one particle... I can't imagine something terrible happening to me, that won't happen...". Usually, people push the plunger down and the only thing they think when something goes wrong is "NO, NO!!!! I'm such an idiot, I'm such an idiot!!! WHY DID I DO THIS?!". I know some people who got some serious problems because of injecting particles, and I got driven to hospital because of coke overdoses... the only thing you think when you realize that something went wrong is "NO! Why did I do this? I'm an idiot.". Everytime. I always thought this.

So be careful. Take care of your life, you got only one.

Ok....

#1. I am a girl... not a "dude"

#2. My mother knows I have purchased drugs online and therefore would likely open my mail if it's a package regardless of me threatening to take her to court for this (her house... her rules, so she would say if I have that much of a problem with it then I should just move out... which I cannot afford to do, by the way, due to my severe drug addiction. I did have my own place, but drugs came before the rent... and well you know how that goes.)
Oh, and I have no problem discussing sex with my mother, but she does have a slight issue with me being an active drug addict, as I am sure most parents would.

#3. I don't sit around my house all day with my thumb up my asshole, so sitting around just waiting for a package to arrive would be a little inconvenient sometimes.

#4. I never said "I cannot afford micron filters," I said I don't want my mom to get the package before myself and then she opens it and asks what I need needle filters for, although I am pretty sure she would know the answer to that question.
(Oh, and cap h, a PO Box is something I cannot afford at the moment.)

#5. I never once said that I am hoping the needle will stop particles... I am aware of the many risks that come along with IVing pills without a micron filter, which is why I posted my question to begin with. If I really expected the needle to do the job of filtering I would have never had any concerns worth posting.

#6. "Take care of your life, you only got one."
Dude, I am a dope head... life ain't so fucking grand for me like it is for you at the moment, so some particles in my veins are the fucking least of my worries right now.


In between your snide remarks, you made some worthwhile points, so please lose your snotty attitude. Thanks.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

an idea...

Shoolamet - Do you have a friend who can safely accept your package for you, then hand it off to you?

I understand why you are reluctant to purchase them, and I also agree that spending the money on a P.O. box isn't the easiest thing to be able to afford when you are barely getting by.

Hopefully a friend can help you out who lives close by?

 

[jazzyhope]

Good grief, it's so frustrating not being able to find filters. Capt do you still buy yours from the same place? Gpz is out, once again!! I've been forced to re-use filters and it's not smart or working out very well. Thx Jaz

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I sure do, and they are in stock at my site I go to.

I just have to get the $ together, I should have them ordered by the 1st.

 

[homeydontplaythat]

excuse the cap locks, but i want this to be known and not repeat it:

IN LIEU OF MICRON FILTERS GRAB A COFFEE FILTER. FOLD IT SEVERAL TIMES AND CUT OUT ENOUGH TO FIT WITHIN THE BARREL OF A SYRINGE. PULL OUT THE PLUNGER AND PACK THEM IN. BACKLOAD YOUR SOLUTION AND PRESS THROUGH.

you should be left with a translucent solution.

 

[Dr_F]

excuse the cap locks, but i want this to be known and not repeat it:

IN LIEU OF MICRON FILTERS GRAB A COFFEE FILTER. FOLD IT SEVERAL TIMES AND CUT OUT ENOUGH TO FIT WITHIN THE BARREL OF A SYRINGE. PULL OUT THE PLUNGER AND PACK THEM IN. BACKLOAD YOUR SOLUTION AND PRESS THROUGH.

you should be left with a translucent solution.

I would imagine a 0.2 micron filter would still be better, however the above method sounds potentially more promising than compacted cotton.

Way back when, I used to do CWE's. I read (then later experienced first hand) that the natural brown Melitta Super Premium coffee filters with "flavor enhancing micro-perforations" that "brews better" (reading off the box atm :D ) are superior to the "standard" bleach white ones (Melitta cost $3 US or so for 100, whereas the latter you get a couple hundred for that price- but we're not making coffee ). Although the Melitta are a little less than twice as thick as the bleach white ones, they're more than thrice as durable; they also have visible, tangible little bumps all over, I imagine to indicate the "micro-perforations." For CWE, they made the process almost painfully slow, I contemplated making my own vacuum filter but it wasn't worth it as even back then a ceiling dose of codeine with inducers followed by potentiators did little.

With no knowledge nor empirical evidence, simply a gut guess, I would say that compacted Melitta filters remove more nasty shit than compacted cotton or compacted regular bleach white coffee filters with the added potential benefit that compacted Melitta coffee filters would likely absorb much less water than compacted cotton.....

Thoughts? Someone actually know numbers? (That is, the pore size of coffee filters).

I thought that cotton, compacted I'm assuming, filtered around 5 (vs. 0.2) microns, is this correct? (I truly can't remember the number, I just know I've read it here somewhere). EDIT: I found it on page 6 in one of CH's posts, it's not 5 rather 50; that is, compacted cotton can get as small as 50 micron pores.

Thanks!
Faust


directed to homey- To be clear, are you suggesting a coffee filter is as good or better than a micron filter? Or rather is this method for those that, for whatever reason, do not have a micron filter? Thanks

 

[homeydontplaythat]

a coffee filter is essentially a low grade micron filter. its not as good but its a goddamn good substitute and nearly almost as good. here is another general tip for filtering:
'

IF YOU CANNOT READ THE NUMBERS ON THE BARREL THROUGH THE SOLUTION IT IS NOT CLEAN ENOUGH TO INJECT.

generally, if the solution is translucent, ie you can see through it (not to be confused with transparent where it would be totally void of color) you should be ok to shoot. hell it is cleaner than most heroin solutions, hehe.

 

[Dr_F]

Whatman v Millipore; Result of not using micron filter?

Good grief, it's so frustrating not being able to find filters... Gpz is out, once again!!

I know that CH and others prefer the Whatman brand, and I see that the 25mm 0.2 microns are out of stock on http://www.gpzservices.com.

However, they do have in stock, for a dollar a piece less, the Millipore brand 33mm 0.2 micron filters. Are these really that bad? I imagine they're better than compacted cotton... unless of course for some reason they tend to not work, that is they tear easily when filtering rendering them useless, when screwed on to Luer Lok syringe they leak as the seal is incorrect, etc...

Any input on this would be much appreciated

See, I have a bit of a confession : I have yet to use a micron filter , instead backloading into a 12ml syringe (typically) with 2 to 3 Jumbo cotton balls compacted, amount of cotton contingent on the consistency/concentration of the solution and the type of pill, also I use more if larger syringe.

I'm FAR from proud of this considering at one point I worked with others from a harm-reduction paradigm; I still believe in harm-reduction and practice it, I think it's fair to say, in all respects EXCEPT for not using a micron filter.

I don't IV daily; actually, hell, when I got on Suboxone (tapering off that now) about 22 months ago I'd never IV'ed any opioid. Rather, I wanted to get high so I taught myself to IV Dormicum (midazolam in pill form), removing the coating from the blue Roche pills using an alcohol swab for each (also a good way to disinfectant them if one were to receive the pills "loose" i.e. touched by another's hands- that and the solution is clear as opposed to blue).

Although not a daily IVDU (I've gone up to 9 months over the last 3 years without using a needle, sticking to other ROAs), several times I have obtained 120 15mg Dormicum and gone through them in a few days Basically, I binge- the only pills that I shoot (once binged on IV coke, OD'ed but no ER, yep I'm one of those guys ) are Dormicum as mentioned and more recently Ritalin (IR methlyphenidate) and Sosegon (pentazocine; I hypothesized- and turned out I was right, hopefully this links to the thread http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=512005 -that this would get me high even though on bupe maintenance, in fact it works better IME IV'ed in the same barrel with Suboxone so that bupe's competitive antagonism at the kappa receptor will prevent the kappa agonist properties of pent that create dyphoria from making me feel crappy several hours later).

Sorry for the long, albeit brief contingent on perspective "drug history" that's been the last 3 years after being clean nearly twice that long , point is there's a good chance I'm going to move back to the Left Coast if I can get that state to pay for me to go to inpatient tx. Even if I can't, my wife and I have been apart FAR too long (I need sex! ) so I'll move anyway and I CANNOT use around her...

So, I'd like to have one last fling with my Mistress Middy, I have Luer Lok syringes and needles in all sizes so figured I could order 2 maybe 3 micron filters from GPZ, all that I would be left wanting would be bacteriostatic water (not only do I not want to spend $40 on it, more importantly I neither want nor need twenty five 30ml bottles! 8) ) and ideally either a sterile container or simply use an empty bacteriostatic H2O bottle...

Even though this is going to be a "last fling," I'll be pumping a number of pills (120 or so) into my bloodstream along with an inevitable amount of bad shit provided I only use compacted cotton... granted, the solution comes out crystal clear, honestly Dormicum filters better IME than Ritalin where it's clear but when held up to the light I can see the "dust" that is mentioned in this thread when not using a micron, the worst is Suboxone, granted perhaps too high a concentration, regardless I couldn't see particles well due to the color so I left a loaded syringe sitting overnight and in the morning could see LARGE particulates had settled to the bottom! Kind of explains why when I decided to try IV'ing my Sub and tapering down until it got me some sort of buzz again (I'm scripted a high dosage), I quit after a mere 4 days as I was beginning to see an orangish color going up one of my main veins

Thus, last fling or no, I've done damage to my veins during midazolam binges, largely due to the fact that I like to be right on the border of unconsciousness and have in the past done 150mg shots (CAUTION! THIS IS FAR TOO MUCH! my tolerance is insane ) that at the time were strong enough to give me extreme euphoria %) , yet just for long enough to remove the needle and apply pressure than bam, unconscious for a few hours; wake up, repeat

I feel like I've asked my question but there's TMI and I'm not being concise, so here: Last fling or no, I want to do the least damage to my body. If I can't get Whatman filters, will Millipore work and if so how well? For that matter, I'm interested in how efficacious the coffee filter method above might be using Melitta filters.




Okay, this is not specifically related to micron filtering, although it may be if what I'm describing is the result of failing to use a mircon filter

I got serious knots in the crook of each elbow where I was shooting in the same large outer vein on each arm during one such aforementioned midazolam binge, lots of scar tissue and I thought the veins were collapsed, they got better over 9 months b/c no needles, then used different places but when they looked better after a year I used them again, only a few times though admittedly it was like a half dozen smaller veins rather than one large one so perhaps I did collapse the big one on each arm , anyway they look much worse now 8( - seemingly permanent knots and visible red spots in each place, has been like this 3 months or so.

I feel stupid asking this (hell, I feel like an idiot even admitting it ) and idk if it should be in BDD, nevertheless: did I collapse the original large vein on the outer edge of the crook of each elbow? (was high on middy, 10ml syringe 27G perhaps larger tip if that's all the local pharmacies had in stock) Will a collapsed vein ever recover? With exercise perhaps, will the knots at least come out eventually and/or the redness go away?

Finally, I've rotated from shooting in the crooks of my elbows to much higher up my arm- however, I've never been able to shoot into my forearms- with a 30G and a perfect hit- without having a yellow area appearing a day or two later (bruising? from the needle or the injected solution?). Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I hit and register, it's just that anything below the elbow does this, above the elbow does on rather rare occassion, I also seemingly get small knots (scar tissue I'm assuming? is this correct?) rather quickly when shooting above my elbow.
I shot into my thigh once and my calf once- thigh is fine, although the calf was a perfect hit I have what looks like a bruise, in fact the vein itself is raised, it hasn't gotten better in 6 weeks...

I'm just wondering if:
1) I'm doing something wrong with my technique even though hit, register, keep needle in vein and if not 100% positive still in always re-register;
2) if the above are simply "war scars" i.e. what happens when you're an IVDU;
3) or if it's the result of using compacted cotton rather than a micron filter.
I honestly don't know, as I said it's embarrassing to even ask as in my mind it shows a degree of ignorance that, considering how many times I have IV'ed, is incongruent with harm-reduction- but I need to know

Many, many thanks

-Faust ^---^

 

[Dr_F]

a coffee filter is essentially a low grade micron filter. its not as good but its a goddamn good substitute and nearly almost as good. here is another general tip for filtering:


IF YOU CANNOT READ THE NUMBERS ON THE BARREL THROUGH THE SOLUTION IT IS NOT CLEAN ENOUGH TO INJECT.

generally, if the solution is translucent, ie you can see through it (not to be confused with transparent where it would be totally void of color) you should be ok to shoot. hell it is cleaner than most heroin solutions, hehe.

Appreciate the info

I've filtered Dormicum many, many times using compacted jumbo-size cotton balls (larger syringe=more cotton balls, I go by how many ml's the compacted cotton takes up prior to filtering)- when I'm done filtering anything, I hold it 6 inches from one of the 5 lights above my bathroom mirror. Provided I've first used one alcohol swab per 15mg pill to remove the blue coating, it looks like water and is thus transparent (I've NEVER used the 7.5mg ones as they're the same size as the 15mg with half the midazolam! no wonder the 15mg ones are getting more difficult to obtain 8) )
With pentazocine, I break the pills, which are slightly smaller than an IR 10mg Novartis Ritalin, into fourths and backload into a syringe, add water and shake until dissolved. The solution is MILKY -the first time I did it I thought there's not a chance in hell this is coming out clear- yet it comes out like the Dormicum.
As I mentioned above, my (far too) concentrated Suboxone solutions I would not inject, although I've mixed it far less concentrated with pentazocine and had a translucent solution. Ritalin comes out as mentioned in this thread: It's clear, but if I look very closely as I hold it right up to the light, I do see "dust particles" floating around. I just remember reading in this thread that a micron filter would remove those.

Now, I'm not suggesting my compacted cotton is as good as a micron filter, even though I'm a strong guy and have used enough force to break a number of sturdy filter syringes
Rather, my question is this: So, micron filters remove the tiny "dust particles" that can be seen in a translucent solution filtered with compacted cotton, what about solutions that come out transparent with no "dust particles?" How many particulates, if any, will a micron filter remove from such a solution, given that the particles would be invisible to the naked eye? They stop bacteria (albeit not viruses), I would imagine a 0.2 micron-sized particle isn't visible to the naked eye but I'm not positive

EDIT: (question poorly phrased and I can practically answer it myself )

If the smallest compacted cotton pores can get is 50 microns and I'm able to make a solution with no particles visible to the naked eye using cotton, then clearly a 0.2 micron filter would be taking out stuff invisible to the naked eye. Duh 8)

As for what they remove, I know there's a link on CH's how-to OP about what a 0.2 will NOT remove... I'm assuming that more talc, etc. will be removed using a 0.2 micron filter vs. 50 micron compacted cotton

Now, as to how much more, I don't know that anyone can quantitatively tell me; saying x% more is inaccurate as it assumes the amount removed is directly proportional to the filter size, when I imagine the relation between filter size and amount removed graphically represented would be a sharp climb in amount removed as filter size decreases then a tapering off- this, of course, assuming that you start with larger sizes so as not to clog small pores.

Qualitatively... idk I imagine the answer I'll get is, "Clearly enough to be concerned about, lol

(End Edit)

The point of this thread, as I understand it, is to elucidate IDUs about micron filtering, to give step by step instructions, and to address questions/concerns that arise/discuss shit/fuck if I know what else.
Thus, to be perfectly clear I still advocate the use of micron filters; however, in the interest of harm reduction, to those individuals who will inevitably not use micron filters for whatever reason, I appeal that they at least do better than a cigarette butt 8( In the past, I would say if you can't/won't use a micron filter and you're IV'ing pills (more of a health hazard in my mind than street drugs), at least use compacted cotton.
However, contingent on some experiments and perhaps some more input, I might change that to compacted coffee filter- I still hypothesize that the natural brown, micro-perforated Melitta ones will be significantly more efficacious than the bleach white ones.

 

[homeydontplaythat]

coffee filters ARE basically micron filters. they may not go down to 1 micron or whatever but they get the job done. no need to waste money and freak out if you dont have a micron filter. i mean who the hell actually uses these things?

a true junkie doesnt even have a credit card to order them from the internet.