opiates and expiration dates

[heliosphan]

i have a couple percocets lying around that are 1 and a half months passed expiration date. just wondering A)if its okay to take them and B)what is it exactly that makes them "expire" in a years time(pretty short, i think). anyway, if you know of any other info on meds other than perc that might help others post that also, as it would be of interest to me too.

 

[Tribulus]

Don't worry about them expiring-you will die before they lose their bang. I have taken 5 year old Vikes before, they start to fall apart much faster and breakdown, but they still do the job. Perhaps over a 5 year span they might lose a little 'bite'-that's all, enjoy....
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"I'll sleep when I'm dead."
[This message has been edited by Tribulus (edited 09 November 2001).]

 

[SovietContin]

I had a friend who did some low level job at a hospital. When the medications expired, particularly the morphine-like substances, the nurses would steal them back out of the trashcans and they'd all party.
He told me that opiates are good for at least two years after they've expired.
A few months ago, I found a bottle of Hycotuss (cough syrup with hydrocodone aka Vicodin) buried in a cabinet under a bathroom sink that had expired in 1999. Tasted rather strange, but fucked me up none-the-less.
Opiates make life worth living. An expiration date ain't nuttin' but a number. Just do it.

 

[PhreeX]

What makes them expire? Simple, the FDA.. opiates are like MDMA - they don't really "break down".. years after the marked expiration date they will still pack as much punch as the day they were new - of course the pill itself might fall apart but the dope is still good..
When I worked in the pharmacy we had to send all expired drugs back, so no dumpster diving for me..
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"I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don't care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is: 'What are they in a position to do about it?'" (William S. Burroughs)

 

[heliosphan]

thanks guys. yup they work great!

 

[TheTruth]

Opiates should be sold in supermarkets, then everyone would be happy. This is THE solution for WORLD PEACE!!!

 

[Wanderingstar]

I'm a med student and I've worked at a pharmacy so here's the lowdown on prescription expiration dates:
Pills generally expire 3-5 years after they were made. On your prescrition bottles it always says the expiration date is one year after dispensing just as a safeguard because pills can sit on pharmacy shelves for a couple years. After they expire they probably lose a bit of their strength and effectiveness, but they won't cause you any harm. If something expired a few years ago, you'll most likely be just fine, however I wouldn't go taking an qualudes left over from 1973.
*c
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"I don't take drugs, I am drugs." - Salvador Dali

 

[Alternity]

I've taken Percocets from '89 and they were just as good to me as brand new ones! No loss in potency at all.
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"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals...and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant...earth would become paradise."

 

[sparklr]

Hey, if you're not gonna take the quaaludes from 1973, pass them this way...

 

[Homeboy]

Opiates should be sold in supermarkets, then everyone would be happy. This is THE solution for WORLD PEACE!!!

For the love of God, How can you even say a thing like that?
I mean, really...they should be hand delivered right to doorsteps, empty bottles collected, new refilled ones dropped off!
Down with milkmen, up with narcmen!
edit: oh yeah, has anyone noticed, that oftentimes when you're being prescribed a new drug, the trial period with the little "sample packets" of said drug are often past their experation?
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://the.select.few #od
[This message has been edited by Homeboy (edited 11 November 2001).]

 

[Quirks]

Most drugs in pill form normally expire when the pharmoknetics of the tablet can no longer be guarenteed to be within a very small tolerance. I'd imagine they probally expire a drug before it loses more then 1% of it's potency.