Harm Reduction Micron Filter Questions: What Can Get Through?

[CretiNation]

Everything soluble in your solution (eg water) will get through. Micron filters can only intercept non soluble particles, typically things you can "see" floating around or lying on the bottom, although "invisible" bacteria will also be intercepted.

you sure about this xxl? i thought syringe filters worked essentially on the same principle as reverse osmosis...

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Why would they put that in the pills?

Gives them a reason to charge out the ass for an already patented drug (buprenorphine).

I found I would vomit, every morning I took suboxone, if I took it sublingually. It goes without saying I no longer care to utilize a ROA that causes skin, eye, and gastrointestinal tract irritation!

 

[xxl]

you sure about this xxl? i thought syringe filters worked essentially on the same principle as reverse osmosis...

Microfiltration (= using micron filters) is said to filter out bacteria but not viruses. Now viruses can be regarded as macromolecules (= very big molecules), much bigger than soluble cuts. Note that bacteria get filtered out only if you use 0.2 filters, not filters with bigger pores.

0.2 is also necessary to filter out talc, a common hasardous cut.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

0.2 is also necessary to filter out talc, a common hasardous cut.

^^ This is really useful information, thank you for posting this. I personally didn't know this, but I also don't IV anything with talc in it. This is really useful for those who do though, thank you.

As Tchort posted, talc is in OxyContin, Morphine Sulfate, and Ritalin. If you IV any one of these, you need a 0.2 micron filter to filter out the talc so you don't end up clogging your lungs up with it.

 

[CretiNation]

Microfiltration (= using micron filters) is said to filter out bacteria but not viruses. Now viruses can be regarded as macromolecules (= very big molecules), much bigger than soluble cuts. Note that bacteria get filtered out only if you use 0.2 filters, not filters with bigger pores.

0.2 is also necessary to filter out talc, a common hasardous cut.

yeah we used 0.22 micron wheels to sterilize solutions in a lab where i worked, my post was referring to this:

To remove soluble solutes, physical (eg evaporation) or chemical (eg solvent treatment) means are needed.

i always thought micron filters worked the same way reverse osmosis did... meaning even a solute that is larger than 0.22 microns will not penetrate the membrane (filter); only solutes (as well as insoluble particles) <0.22 microns in size can pass through the filter.

is this wrong or am i just misunderstanding what you wrote?

 

[dokomo]

I'm not an intravenous drug user but I stumbled upon this thread and was intrigued because I too used micron filters in a lab. I found some interesting and hopefully helpful info on filters that people might be interested in.

http://www.filtercouncil.org/techdata/tsbs/89-5R3.pdf

Very cool, glad to see a universal standard has been established!

 

[Jabberwocky]

great thread, tchort

these are the suckers that i've used previously that a few of us chipped in and bought from the web. it's not from this actual website, though. i can't remember the brand that the hospital in town hands out or remember the other kinds i've used, it's going back a few years when i was using IV pills often (it's not an extremely rare thing seeing me IV pills now, australian meth is bad enough). they worked pretty well for mscontins, oxycontins and physeptones (methadone) and mdxx pills. i'd recommend.

they're .22 size
http://www.researchsupply.net/filtration.html

I always used to run a bit of cold water through the filter once I had done the main "push" just to flush out any dregs of good stuff that may be left.

second that. you can always run a little bit of water through some of them before actually drawing as well.

 

[dokomo]

Which of the three filter types on the page below would be the best for filtering a CWE?

http://www.researchsupply.net/filtration.html

 

[xxl]

Which of the three filter types on the page below would be the best for filtering a CWE?

http://www.researchsupply.net/filtration.html

In CWE you are filtering solid particles from an aqueous solution right? So I would guess the PES would be the best choice.

They mention something about not exerting too high a pressure so prefiltering before using the micron filter is advisable (rather than clogging the filter and pushing the plunger like crazy to get the liquid through drop by drop).

 

[brutus]

Tchort, I really don't have anything that great to add to this thread, but I just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work that you put into each and every single post. I look forward to reading your posts because they are the epitome of harm reduction. Also, this is a great thread. I have never really thought about what could get through a micron filter. You are without a doubt, one of the best contributes to this board.

I have one question though, would IV'ing Restoril be worth the risk if one was to use a very fine micron filter? I don't plan on doing so, but this thread has me interested on it.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I have one question though, would IV'ing Restoril be worth the risk if one was to use a very fine micron filter? I don't plan on doing so, but this thread has me interested on it.

It's not completely water soluble, and not completely alcohol soluble either.

I wouldn't bother prepping temazepam for IV; I would stick to oral administration. Hypnotic benzodiazepines (flurazepam being my favorite benzo) rock because of the long duration and intensity of effects.

 

[ingannilo]

you can get filters at getpinz: http://www.gpzservices.com/

Reverse osmosis is nothing terribly special from what I understand. There is no active transport going on, no special proteins deciding what goes through. It's just very, very finely porous material. "Semipermiable" membrane makes a lot of people think of cell walls and active transport which is an entirely different mess.

So, yea, micron filters and reverse osmosis work on similar principals. I think with r.o. there are much greater pressures involved than we'd see in the business end of a syringe(without tearing the filter).

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Microcrystalline Cellulose:

Microcrystalline cellulose is as small as 5 microns, so no micron filter is going to help. It doesn't dissolve in water or organic solvents so imagine how long it will sit in blood and tissues.

So, even with a 0.20 micron filter, it appears that microcrystalline could still be in it, unless you filtered against it a different way (i.e. cotton) or if the pill in question only had microcrystalline cellulose in the capsule, and not the innards. If I'm wrong someone may correct me.

So, if the microcrystalline cellulose is not just the capsule and you can't just pull it apart and throw it aside, then despite a 0.2 micron filter, it will still be in the solution.

Microcrystalline Cellulose - one of the "bad guys", like talc, or silicone dioxide.

 

[Eight0Eight]

I noticed they had these at the clinic/needle exchange last time I went.

I've also heard a few users talking about them (probably as a result) - not makny users seems to know or care about them here.

The general concensus among the users I know that have found out about them is "waste of time/can't be fucked/fuck that". :/

 

[Tchort]

I noticed they had these at the clinic/needle exchange last time I went.

I've also heard a few users talking about them (probably as a result) - not makny users seems to know or care about them here.

The general concensus among the users I know that have found out about them is "waste of time/can't be fucked/fuck that". :/

Chicken & The Egg. This attitude stems from the ignorance of disastrous health effects that can happen from injections when something goes wrong, or something is in the solution that shouldn't be, or if you push too fast/too hard on the plunger, if you nick an artery, etc.

Most IDU's (Injecting Drug User) have no idea what could potentially happen to them when engaging in injecting (whether IV, intra-muscular, subcutaneous, etc) street drugs or pills/pharmaceutical oral solutions/syrups.

Therefore, they do not care about safety against something they aren't aware of

 

[Eight0Eight]

Chicken & The Egg. This attitude stems from the ignorance of disastrous health effects that can happen from injections when something goes wrong, or something is in the solution that shouldn't be, or if you push too fast/too hard on the plunger, if you nick an artery, etc.

Most IDU's (Injecting Drug User) have no idea what could potentially happen to them when engaging in injecting (whether IV, intra-muscular, subcutaneous, etc) street drugs or pills/pharmaceutical oral solutions/syrups.

Therefore, they do not care about safety against something they aren't aware of

The real sad thing is, is that a couple of these people are on crutches as a result of shooting in the groins for *years*.

They know very well the dangers of IV use - though I'm not in any position to really critisise.

I think once wheel filters become commonplace within needle exchanges then their use will become more and more accepted. It was only a couple years ago that *I* was having to explain to the exchange staff what they where!!

I think part of the problem, is that the filter could somehow 'interfere' with a long-term addicts ritual of cooking up.

 

[dopiate]

The real sad thing is, is that a couple of these people are on crutches as a result of shooting in the groins for *years*.

They know very well the dangers of IV use - though I'm not in any position to really critisise.

I think once wheel filters become commonplace within needle exchanges then their use will become more and more accepted. It was only a couple years ago that *I* was having to explain to the exchange staff what they where!!

I think part of the problem, is that the filter could somehow 'interfere' with a long-term addicts ritual of cooking up.

I think it is cost. Filtering with a wheel would be a very small addition to the ritual. It could also be anxiety about not getting every drop of H; i can just see a junkie smashing open 10+ dry wheel filters to get a shot.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

The real sad thing is, is that a couple of these people are on crutches as a result of shooting in the groins for *years*.

OMFG are you serious? Wow.

It was only a couple years ago that *I* was having to explain to the exchange staff what they where!!

The SEP I go to, the workers don't even know how to re-cap a syringe without poking themseves several times trying to do so.

I was like...you want some help with that?

It could also be anxiety about not getting every drop of H; i can just see a junkie smashing open 10+ dry wheel filters to get a shot.

LOL!!!

That made me lol in IRL.

 

[Dankycodone]

This thread is so interesting thanks for posting. I have seen so many people IV pills without filtering its scary. They shoot a quatar tablet without filtering at all some filter through a cotton.I was born in Georgia its in eastern europe and when i went back to visit subutex has become the new heroin there. I have always wanted to shoot subutex but too scared just by reading the shit that can go wrong on these boards. This is a very informative thread that has me wondering about trying the needle. Anyway keep the info coming sorry i have nothing really to add I wish people all over the world knew how dangerous it is to shoot pills.

 

[Eight0Eight]

OMFG are you serious? Wow.

Absolutely dead serious.

I started going to a shitty group for users, out of the 10-11 of us there, 3 of them where on crutches as a direct result of hitting the groin for years.

There are also a lot of users in town like this.

It could also be anxiety about not getting every drop of H; i can just see a junkie smashing open 10+ dry wheel filters to get a shot.

Thats why you always "flush" the filter with a little water after pushing through your drugs. That way you get *all* the gear out.

I think it is cost. Filtering with a wheel would be a very small addition to the ritual. It could also be anxiety about not getting every drop of H; i can just see a junkie smashing open 10+ dry wheel filters to get a shot.

They are free in the UK at needle exchanges that stock them.