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Heroin Re using filter advice needed

rallynug

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 26, 2010
Messages
33
Location
UK (SE England)
Hi guys, here in the UK we all seem to use the same equipment for administering IV heroin. Part of the kit is made up of cigarette filters to draw up our solution, I was hoping someone can give me some advice as to the most effective way of reusing these to get another hit when funds etc have been depleted. I am fully aware of the risks involved and do not need reminding of them, just a guide on how to do this in the most practical way involving the least harm.
 
Well, the way that would involve least harm is to not "do a wash" (as we call it where I live) on used filters at all. If you're worried about leaving some of the dope trapped in the filter, do a wash on them immediately, by adding some more water to the cooker, drawing it up through the filter to get every last bit of dope out of there before you do your shot. That will also reduce the temptation to re-use them.

If you are one of those people who deliberately saves them up so you can do a wash on a bunch of them when you're junksick and have no money, well I can understand that, as unwise as it is. What I started doing instead was saving a very tiny bit of dry heroin every time I did a shot, so that would be my way to gradually save up a little stash for emergencies. If you get everything out of your filters when you use them, and you save a little bit like this, it's less risky, less wasteful, and you don't have to mess around with 30 filters and not knowing exactly how much dope you'll be able to get out of them etc when you're sick and broke.

If you're still going to do filter shots anyway, here's what I would advise to try to reduce risk (and make the most of it):

- allow them to dry completely as opposed to storing them wet (this will reduce the potential for bacterial growth)
- store them in something clean and dry
- put them in a cooker with plenty of water, you may need significantly more water than you'd need for a normal shot, depending on how many filters you're using at once
- apply a little heat
- try to suck as much liquid as you can out of the filters with a syringe
- add more water
- again draw up as much water out of the filters as possible
- squirt the solution into a clean cooker
- apply heat (this will kill off some bacteria/viruses but not all!)
- put a clean filter into the solution and draw up into a clean syringe
- add a tiny bit more water and draw up again to make sure you got it all out of this last filter
 
^ Good post

I would also like to add though that cotton has been proven as a more effective filter than cigarette filters.
 
Just don't pound out your cottons more than once.. You're not going to get much of anything after the first re-filter but the potential for cotton fever is high.. Not fun.

Like swimmingdancer said, pounding them out immediately for your first shot helps avoid the temptation to hit them again later. But.. I know the desperation and I know if you have those cottons sitting around, even if you already smashed them out, you're going to want to do it again.. Be careful. Try to use a new fresh filter to draw up the solution from the old cottons, not letting your needle actually touch any of the old ones.
 
You seem to already know that "washes" or "cotton shots" are not a good idea due to bacterial risks of cotton fever, etc., but that said- when i've been forced to do them my technique was quite similar to what swimmingdancer described. I would let them dry out before storing them, then keep them in a dry bag. Then i'd put however many i was using into my spoon and saturate them with water, letting them absorb it for a moment before squeezing them with a plunger. The water that comes out will then have heroin residue in it, and you filter that with a new cotton into a syringe. Then throw them away- a second wash will not get you any worthwhile residue and is just asking for a dirty shot (cotton fever)
 
The entire point of a filter is to filter out the bad stuff. Meaning that a wash run is basically injecting all that stuff you went out of your way to not inject.

In short: its not worth it.

If you must do it despite it being essentially pointless, buy some distilled water and go to town. Though once again there is not much left over compared to all the crap that you filtered. If there were a ton of dope left in the filters, you think anyone would EVER use them? Of course not. As it stands though, they take away some of the bad stuff. If you inject that crap after all, you might as well just skip the filters in the first place. Basically half a notch above that position anyway.
 
http://www.brugerforeningen.dk/bf.n...6C12578AE00739E2A?OpenDocument&K=Science&S=UK

Although as you can see it's not a huge difference.
The rizla filter on the other hand looks to be the winner if you don't have a micron.

I thought that was fairly common knowledge on BL...

"Common knowledge" is not always correct or based on scientific studies. The hand-rolling cigarette filters are the type given out at needles exchanges and the ones the OP is talking about, so the studies actually state they are superior to cotton. In addition I have read other studies which found cotton was much more inconsistant compared to cig filters and had other risks that cigarette filters may not (less likely to be clean, more likely for fibers to break off, potential for certain bacteria that live on cotton, etc). The needles exchange where I used to work suggested cigarette filters over cottons as well.
 
Hey everyone...New here to the site but, have always looked at posts from members on web searches for advice and decided that it was time, and long overdue at that to join...Anyway I wanted to put my 2 sense in on this topic first as I just recently re filtered to stop from being sick...at least I hoped I wouldn't be sick. So I hadn't even realized how many filters I actually had saved....i was amazed and pretty giddy when I saw the mass amounts I had...first time trying I used about 6 cottons...good ones though and made sure they were nice and crusty...meaning that they were fully dry and had a significant amount left inside. I pressed them out, re filtered, and then went for it. Literally when I say this I had survived off a weeks worth of cotton shots...havent been sick or had cotton fever...not saying that it doesn't happen...and it does but, it saved me from withdrawing all week while my car was in the shop and couldn't get to point B....its most definitely not safe but then no use is. So point being that if you do so correctly you can really save yourself the frustration of being sick by saving your filters...just leave that little amount at the end and let them dry completely...hasnt disappointed me yet.
 
I agree with that statement 100%....it is very stupid to reuse any filter. And yes im sure the inevitable will happen eventually but, desperate times call for desperate measures...it is not recommended by myself to go and try this if someone can avoid it. And although I may have been lucky those times I did it, doing this process stopped me from being very sick....i actually was at a point where I could wake up and feel like I could go the day without anything....almost like the tiny amounts I was getting had lowered my tolerance like a detox but with last resort resources...like I said, I DO NOT...recommend to anyone to try this but, if someone is going to do so do it in a way that is as safe as humanly possible....we all know...there is no safe use...no 100% complication free way to use any hard drug...just wanted to share my experience.
 
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