does snorting codeine work?

[burningrass]

so i know some gets changed to morphine in the liver producing most of the effects but would snorting it have some effects? im already high and just looking for a booster.

 

[DJRolling]

no!

 

[username13]

Already high? Save the rest for next time pls dont snort

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Fasepalm. I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong. If there's not a lot of info on taking a very common drug a certain way, chances are there's good reason for it.

Please don't do this. You'll thank me in a few years .

 

[Rybee]

I can give a basic answer but I'm not 100% on the pharmacology so will gladly be corrected by anybody with better knowledge


Basically; in theory, yes it does work. In practice, it's just not worth it.

If snorted/insufflated it will get absorbed into your blood via the mucus membranes and circulated around to your liver where it has to be metabolized into morphine, at a ratio of about 10%. So a 30mg codeine tablet would be metabolized into approx 3mg morphine.

But the real issue boils down to tolerance really. I don't know about you, nor anyone else, but I get my codeine tabs in 28x30mg so generally halve that into 2 doses of 14x30mg=420mg codeine/10=42mg of morphine.

At most I think you'd probably be able to insufflate, say 2x30mg tabs in each nostril? So you'd only be able take 4 tablets, in which case I think your nasal membranes will be completely saturated with powder and you'll get a nasty drip down the back of your throat for a long time. For the sake of just 4 tablets, of which I'd expect about 20% to be wasted during the insufflation process. I dread to think anyone has ever tried insufflating 14x30mg tablets... though I bet they have, there are some silly people in this world of ours.

Codeine has a 90% oral bioavailability and since it is a morphine pro drug, it has to be metabolized in the liver first anyway. Since there's probably a negligible time difference it takes to get to your liver via your mucus membranes as opposed to just swallowing it, and the dose that you'd have to insufflate would have to be huge, you're far better off just swallowing them and maybe using a potentiator to make it more potent if you wish. If it was a drug that could be taken in a very small dose straight into your bloodstream that doesn't need metabolizing by the liver, then yeah insufflation is a viable option. But codeine just isn't. And that doesn't mean you can snort Oramorph either 8(

But please seek harm reduction advice before ever using a potentiator. I was planning to use Benadryl as a potentiator and just before I left to go to the chemist I saw that when taken in recreational doses in conjunction with MAOIs/SSRI's it can cause Serotonin Syndrome, which can be lethal. I take a heavy dose (425mg) of Venlafaxine so have steered well away. I shouldn't have been so stupid to not research it properly. Learn from my mistake.

So that should give you a basic answer for codeine, I honestly have no idea about other opium drugs. Here in the UK it's pretty much Codeine/DHC or Oramorph, the US seem to use different products such as hydrocodone, oxycodone which are more potent so you'll have to consume less so insufflation *may* be done by some people. Although again, if they're a pro-drug then they've got to be metabolized in the liver so I doubt it's worth it. If someone can let me know about this I'd be quite interested actually. I've only used Codeine/DHC and Oramorph so have literally zero knowledge on other products.


I hope this helps and as said, I will happily stand corrected if I've erred in my advice.

Play safe,

Rybee

 

[Coolwhip]

Since there's probably a negligible time difference it takes to get to your liver via your mucus membranes as opposed to just swallowing it

You've come to the right conclusion, but snorting avoids first pass metabolism, the rate at which the drug reaches the liver will be MUCH lower when snorting. Since codeine is a pro-drug you WANT first pass metabolism. Doing anything with codeine except swallowing it is a waste.

 

[RobotRipping]

you could snort codeine but you risk having a severe histamine reaction (same reason it's not IVd). Yeah the effects would probably be shit anyway but it's not all to do with codeine being a prodrug. It's that histamine reaction that you don't want and getting codeine to the brain faster is going to release more histamine, thus causing you a severe allergic reaction, sometimes causing death. Not cool, plus the amount of codeine you'd have to snort to get high would be ridiculous and most of it would go down your throat anyway.

so yes to your question but it's dangerous and not worth while in any sense. Go snort some hydromorphone or something instead (also a waste but better than codeine).

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I don't need to do this.

 

[RobotRipping]

well that's good to know anyway, do you know why it's IMd by Drs yet vaporizing it is a terrible idea? not to get off topic but i thought the histamine reaction was the issue with faster ROA.

btw i can't help but visualize Scott Baio telling me this lol.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

It's not IVed because that tends to cause pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), not a histamine reaction.

I thought the pulmonary edema was caused by the histamine reaction?? Also the intense histamine reaction one gets from injecting codeine is really not fun even when it's not life-threatening, and considering codeine is a pro-drug there just isn't a very good reason to inject it, it still comes on slowly when injected. I have no idea whether it's dangerous to snort codeine though, but even if it isn't it sounds pointless.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

It could be, IDK. I'm talking out my ass, which is fucking stupid/irrespbonsible . But honestly IMO, it's just nitpicking.

EDIT: see post edit. I originally did a simple google search & only found what I wanted to see. Revised.