Buprenorphine - Recreational Use

Recreational Use

Buprenorphine is also used recreationally, typically by opioid users, often by insufflation. Recreational users of Suboxone who crush the tablet and snort it report a euphoric rush similar to other opioids in addition to a slight "upper"-like effect. Those already using buprenorphine/Suboxone for opioid addiction therapy find that insufflation is only slightly, if any stronger than taking the pill sublingually, although it may have a quicker onset. Those taking it for addiction therapy also report that obtaining euphoria is virtually impossible after the first few doses. Many recreational users also report withdrawal symptoms. Due to the high potency of tablet forms of buprenorphine, only a small amount of the drug need be ingested to achieve the desired effects.

Although some people do use buprenorphine for purely recreational reasons, the majority of its illicit use is for addiction therapy. Many people report it being effective in preventing withdrawals in-between doses of their opiate of choice. Illicit users who do not want it on record may also obtain it on the street to use as a less-painful method of quitting than "cold-turkey". Some report needing as little as one 8 mg tab, which is broken up into gradually smaller doses that they take in order to effectively wean themselves off the opiate/opioid they are addicted to. The illegal and potentially dangerous self-dosing of Buprenorphine is deemed by many street users as a less risky alternative to what an addict may do on the streets to obtain money for their addiction, and less dangerous than quitting cold-turkey. Furthermore, most U.S. doctors authorized to prescribe Suboxone charge ~$300 for a first visit, plus several hundred more for follow-up visits, which makes going through official channels more expensive than simply maintaining the original opiate addiction, for some users.

Buprenorphine abuse is very common in Scandinavia, especially in Finland and Sweden. In 2007, the authorities in Uppsala county in Sweden confiscated more buprenorphine than cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin. In Finland recreational use of buprenorphine is on the rise; in 2005, Finland's incidence of Subutex abuse (most often injected intravenously) surpassed the incidence of recreational usage of amphetamines. Intravenous administration of dissolved Subutex pills and insufflation of pulverized pills are the most common modes of recreational buprenorphine use. This method of recreational use of Subutex is also seen in the Finnish documentary Reindeerspotting. The importer of legal Subutex to Sweden has in November 2012 stopped the sales of Subutex in Sweden due to problems with recreational use and drug induced deaths linked to Subutex.