This may sound crazy, but...

[mrdevious]

Could I grind up my Tramadol pills and smoke them? I figured this way I could bypass the constipation, titrate my dose, and get faster and more effective relief. I just don't want to jump into it before I ask, since I'm not sure if inhaling something in the pill would damage my lungs.

mrdevious Reviewed by mrdevious on 05-27-2007. This may sound crazy, but... Could I grind up my Tramadol pills and smoke them? I figured this way I could bypass the constipation, titrate my dose, and get faster and more effective relief. I just don't want to jump into it before I ask, since I'm not sure if inhaling something in the pill would damage my lungs. Rating: 5

[LIP]

Well, i'm assuming it'd be a powder? Powder doesnt really burn, it's like people trying to smoke coke in joints - i think it's a waste.

I think, to be honest, a better way would be crushing it up and snorting it - but i wouldnt advice it.

[birdgirl73]

Don't do that, Mr. D. You dont really have a way of knowing what might result from that combustion, which can cause significant chemical changes. And you don't have any way of knowing what effect that'd have on you. If that med were meant to be inhaled, snorted or smoked, it'd be dispensed in ways other than pill form. It's intended to be swallowed and digested.

[mrdevious]

Don't do that, Mr. D. You dont really have a way of knowing what might result from that combustion, which can cause significant chemical changes. And you don't have any way of knowing what effect that'd have on you. If that med were meant to be inhaled, snorted or smoked, it'd be dispensed in ways other than pill form. It's intended to be swallowed and digested.

Well actually people smoked opium for medicine back in the day and it had all the same opiates that they put in painkillers like vicodin or oxycontin. I think pharmaceutical companies just aviod smoking as a policy altogether and stick with orgal ingestion.

But yeah, I suspected I might end up inhaling some dangerous chemical and wanted to double check with someone else. So I won't smoke it. Thanks.

[mrdevious]

I don't suppose doctors can inject novocain into muscles can they?

[birdgirl73]

There are plenty of inhalable preparations. I use two of them for asthma, and there are lots of others. But it's true that there aren't any traditional pharmaceutical meds that are smoked. That's for good reason. There are better, more direct ways to get meds into the bloodstream, such as injection or IV solutions, that don't require smoking. Pills are meant to enter the bloodstream slowly and gradually through digestive absorption so people don't get sick or have as high a risk of overdose. That's why injectables and IV suspensions are more frequently used in hospitals or clinics--so the dosage can be administered by professionals. (That's also why it's so easy for people to OD on street drugs that are injected.) Fortunately, fewer and fewer people are skilled smokers, and even if they were, exact dosages would be harder to manage in smokable preparations. And just think of the fire hazard, especially with narcotic analgesics.

Sure, natural poppy-based opiates, which we're not really supposed to mention here, were historically (and still are in plenty of places) smoked, but tramadol is a synthetic opiate, and we don't have any way of knowing what combustion would do to it. Maybe nothing. Chances are the active compounds would burn completely away and be wasted. But it's not something anyone should risk. I'm sorry you're in so much pain, hun!

[Ganj]

Better close this before Ganj comes in here making a scene about smoking drugs...

[Ganj]

I was going to tell you, Mr. Devious--marijuana is a great aid for constipation. It softens the bowels, making it easier to disencumber yourself.