An Understanding of the Etiology of Silicosis
I am not a pathologist, but I try to think like one when I analyze the etiology and pathophysiology of disease states; and to me, silicosis shares some of the properties of asbestosis without the mutagenicity/carcinogenicity.
Now it is essential to note that all types of asbestos are putatively not associated with asbestosis or mesothelioma. Only one very specific type of the many types of asbestos, the amphibole fibrous type of asbestos (long, straight and thin, needle-like fibers; as opposed to serpentine fibrous: curved and snakelike fibers; or non-fibrous) is the only type which seems to get stuck deep in the lungs, and causes chronic inflammation, sclerosis and scarring; and very often mesothelioma (without getting into too much theoretical oncology, many oncologists refer to malignant mesothelioma as a sentinel type of cancer, meaning it may be the original source for many of the common cancers you see today such as colorectal carcinoma or breast cancer.)
As the amphibole type of asbestos works its way through the parietal epithelium and then the visceral epithelium, and goes deeper into the lungs into the pleural mesothelium (tumors that arise from cells which originate from the pleural mesoderm are called mesothelioma), the mutagenic/carcinogenic effects of the asbestos, damage the DNA, and cellular repair enzymes cannot keep up, This causes a malignant cell and while most of the time, the immune system kills the cell, if there are too many, or the immune system is not working properly, the mutant cell may proliferate, and if the mutation is in one of the oncogenes (e.g., one of the genes associated with contact inhibition), the mutation is malignant and starts a monoclonal malignant tumor, which can metastasize by breaking off and traveling through the blood stream.
Now other types of asbestos (serpentine and crystalline), putatively, are not associated with mesothelioma, but can be associated with asbestosis (chronic inflammation, dyspnea, pyric discharge.) Also, it is worth noting that asbestosis specifically refers to interstitial (parenchymal) fibrosis from asbestos, and not pleural fibrosis or plaquing.
Now let’s compare silicone, silicates and silicosis. I am pretty sure that eronite, a natural silicate, is also associated with increased risk of mesothelioma (which is likely due to a peculiarity of its structure, and/or its interaction with DNA or replication associated molecules.) Since this is the only silicate I am aware of that has this property, it is highly unlikely that it is something to do with the silicone molecule itself, but to a property of the compound itself: [(Na2,K2,Ca)2Al4Si14O36•15H2O)].
Silicosis was originally known as Potter's Lung because the inhalation of the vast amounts of silicates associated with the manufacture of pottery was seen in Potters or assistants who worked with the kiln. (A silicate is a silicone bearing anion and hence, negatively charged, meaning the silicone molecule, at least in part, is partially oxidized.) The amount of dust inhaled daily by these people was very large, but beyond the capacity of the lung to repair itself or the damage. The lung is a resilient organ with a large amount of associated reserve capacity when you are referring to basal levels required to sustain normal life, as opposed to marathon running or sprinting. Most potters or kiln users did not get silicosis, so we can safely assume that for those that did, either the amount of inhaled material was large and/or that the inflammatory response to the silicone was abnormal. Based on the analysis of the pyric discharge, the former is certainly somehow involved as the silicone amount in the sputum was always large (I do not remember TD50 offhand.)
Now it also worth noting that Silicone [28Si14]is under Carbon [12C8} on the periodic table, and is able to form four tetrahedral bonds like carbon (and more when taking into account electrons in the d shell

hence, polymeric chains like carbon, are not only theoretically possible, but have been produced (unlike in the next element in the same column of the periodic table, Germanium [72Ge32], which theoretically can form long chains, but in practice forms oxides [GeO2] to readily to polymerize without the addition of organometallic components.) So the possibility of amphibole structures is not only possible, but has been accomplished, and these do not appear to be mutagenic/carcinogenic but do appear to be more likely to cause silicosis at lower TD50 than most silicates. (and no I do not have the reference memorized, so search for it if you need it)
I am very confident that the amount and type of silicone/silicate particles in the Opana© pill is small and, if snorted, the hygroscopic properties of the binding agents make these particles get caught up in the waxy mucous discharge which these pills cause, and particularly after showering, are expelled completely when blowing your nose (or almost completely at first, but within a few days all of it clears IMHO).
If you perform my crisping technique on Opana© pills, this caking and expansion of the waxy parts still happens, but not to the same extent. You still discharge the spent material from your nose, but absorption seems quicker and sputum seems to be of a lesser volume. Most of the snorted (probably as much as 80 % from my estimates,) “uncrisped” Opana© is not absorbed parenterally from (after adsorbing to) the interstitial mucosa of the lungs and is swallowed due to increased mucous production and post-nasal buildup, which eventually works its way to the glottal area of the throat hence, most of the oxymorphone is absorbed, enterally, from the gut, where it passes through the liver and gets capped and inactivated at the 3’ end by UDP with glucuronic acid during first-pass metabolism. It is here that the oxymorphone loses at least 80-85% of its potency.
But the good news is that for anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of laboratory technique, the 40 mg tablets, when done in batches of 10, yield about 75% theoretical yield (300 mgs of the 400 mgs theoretical) by simple acid/base manipulation with polar/non-polar extraction. You can get much closer to the theoretical yield if you want to take the time, but for 10-20 minutes of quick work, 75% is not bad. The rest can be saved, combined and extracted with a more involved procedure later on.
I am not sure why the “crisping” of these pills allows for better parenteral absorption through the interstitial mucosa, but it does. It may not be not as simple as with most pills where the waxy substance congeals out of the polar material (water) during solvolysis, heating and cooling. These pills are more sensitive than most to “over-crisping” and “crisping” itself will not degrade the matrix of the pill enough to allow for injection (this is the only pill I have ever found where my crisping procedure did not degrade the matrix enough for injection.) And since I have not worked with any Opana© lately (as I have not been trying to get high all the time after curing my own depression), I never did find a simple way for the average junky to shoot an Opana© pill. Has anyone else figured a way?
MobiusDick