Buprenorphine Well-documented

Well-documented

Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.

5 corroborating sources

1 ROA with full dose ladder

duration data present

29 combo interactions documented

toxicity data (PsychonautWiki, PubChem)

Aliases: Bupe, Subs, Sobos, Strips, suboxone

Summary dose.wiki Erowid TripSit PsychonautWiki

Buprenorphine is a partial μ-opioid agonist and κ-opioid antagonist used for opioid use disorder treatment and pain management. It has a ceiling effect for respiratory depression and euphoria at therapeutic doses, making it safer than full opioid agonists. However, this ceiling effect is removed when combined with benzodiazepines or alcohol.

Dose Information PsychonautWiki

Dose basis. Buprenorphine’s dose depends entirely on route and on whether the reader is opioid-tolerant. The sublingual figures are the meaningful ones: oral buprenorphine is largely destroyed by first-pass metabolism and needs MORE by mass, not less. Oral and insufflated ladders were withdrawn on 7 August 2026 because they had been populated with sublingual numbers, which read as though those routes were 5x more efficient than sublingual rather than less. As a partial agonist it can also precipitate withdrawal in someone physically dependent on a full agonist.

ROA	Light	Common	Strong	Heavy
Sublingual	1-2mg	2-4mg	4-8mg	8mg+

Light Common Strong Heavy

Sources

Sublingual

Dose ladder — PsychonautWiki

☠ 2 mg (opioid-naïve) Deaths reported at 2 mg in opioid-naïve users

“Opioid-naive individuals should exercise extreme caution; deaths have been reported at 2 mg doses. The ceiling effect plateaus between 16-32 mg.” — SubstanceIndex (dose.wiki)

Onset, Duration & After-effects dose.wiki TripSit PsychonautWiki

ROA	Onset	Comeup	Peak	Offset	After Effects	Total
Sublingual	30-80 min	1-2 hrs	1.5-4 hrs	6-12 hrs	24-72 hrs	9-19.33 hrs
Transdermal	12-24 hrs	-	24-48 hrs	12-24 hrs	24-72 hrs	48-96 hrs
Intravenous	2-5 min	5-15 min	30-60 min	4-8 hrs	12-24 hrs	4.61-9.33 hrs
Intramuscular	15-30 min	30-60 min	1-2 hrs	4-8 hrs	12-24 hrs	5.75-11.5 hrs
Oral	60-90 min	-	1.5-2 hrs	4-8 hrs	1-16 hrs	6.5-11.5 hrs
Insufflated	30-60 min	-	4-8 hrs	-	1 - 3 days	8-14 hrs

Opioid MME Calculator

⚠ Citation & Disclaimer: Conversion factors sourced from the NIH HEAL Initiative MME Calculator (Adams et al., PAIN 2025), the CDC 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, and the MDCalc MME Calculator. These are approximate equianalgesic ratios for educational reference only. Individual responses vary significantly based on genetics, tolerance, cross-tolerance, and route of administration. This is not medical advice. Do not use these conversions to adjust opioid dosing without professional medical guidance.

Convert from

Convert to

0.26 mg Buprenorphine

≈

— mg Morphine

⚠ Equianalgesic dose ratios are approximations and do not account for genetic factors, tolerance, incomplete cross-tolerance, or pharmacokinetic variations. Methadone conversion is especially variable at higher doses. Always consult a healthcare provider before making any changes to opioid therapy.

Tolerance

Build-up develops slowly due to partial agonist ceiling; still produces opioid cross-tolerance

Reset Falls quickly once you stop, at a rate you can't judge. After any break, treat your tolerance as gone.

No tolerance chart. Our decay curves for opioids were estimates, and a curve can make tolerance look longer-lasting than it is, which is the dangerous direction.

Opioid tolerance drops fast when you stop, and even a few days off can be enough, so a dose that used to be normal can now stop your breathing. Overdose deaths rise sharply after prison, detox or leaving treatment, and tolerance also falls during a hospital stay. After any break, start with a much smaller amount, try a test dose first, don't use alone, and keep naloxone within reach. Alcohol, benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids and other sedatives make an opioid overdose much more likely.

Sources: FRANK: heroin · National Harm Reduction Coalition · WHO: opioid overdose · Merrall et al. 2010 · Binswanger et al. 2007 · Strang et al. 2003 · FDA 2019: gabapentinoids and breathing

Cross-Tolerances

Other opioids

Effects Erowid Bluelight

Aggregated from 71 single-substance Erowid and 26 Bluelight experience reports; 81 Erowid reports where another drug was taken too are left out

Each bar shows the share of analyzed reports whose text mentions that effect — a mention is not always a first-hand experience (fear of an effect or something witnessed can count). Mentions saying the effect did not happen are left out; that check reads keywords, so it can miss some. The shaded band on a bar, and the small range after its number, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind. Fewer reports, wider band. Tap or hover any number for details. The second value is the Bluelight extractor's per-effect confidence; a dash means the row is Erowid-derived, which has no confidence measurement.

Positive Effects 31

34.6% 84%

34.0% 89%

22.7% 84%

21.6% 82%

18.5% 80%

15.4% 86%

15.4% 71%

12.4% 83%

11.4% 87%

7.7% 78%

7.7% 90%

7.7% 82%

7.7% 88%

7.7% 82%

6.1% 85%

4.2% –

4.1% 75%

3.8% 90%

3.8% 80%

3.8% 75%

Show 11 more positive effects

3.8% 80%

3.8% 85%

3.8% 90%

3.8% 85%

3.8% 80%

3.8% 85%

Adverse Effects 33

30.9% 84%

23.1% 79%

19.2% 94%

15.5% 79%

11.5% 87%

11.5% 85%

11.5% 88%

11.5% 83%

10.3% 80%

9.3% 87%

9.2% 83%

7.7% 90%

7.7% 80%

4.2% –

3.8% 95%

3.8% 90%

3.8% 85%

3.8% 90%

Show 13 more adverse effects

3.8% 85%

3.8% 80%

3.8% 70%

3.8% 75%

3.8% 80%

3.8% 85%

3.8% 80%

3.8% 70%

Also reported in combinations. In the 81 Buprenorphine reports where another drug was taken too, 16 (19.8%) mention hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 2 (2.5%) a seizure and 2 (2.5%) psychosis. In the 71 single-substance reports: 15.5%, 1.4% and 0.0%. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Buprenorphine alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

Combinations

Cross-Check Buprenorphine with another substance

Community Trip Reports

Anecdotal first-person accounts from Reddit, Erowid, Bluelight, and Dose.wiki. Click a source to expand. Reports are harm-reduction context, not medical guidance. Tags summarise each author's own verdict — how reports are classified.

Erowid 8 reports 3 positive 2 neutral 3 cautionary visit

Recreational, Respectful Use cautionary exp #75952

A family member of mine is currently in treatment for opiate addiction/pain and was prescribed Suboxone and now Subutex. She has been on opiates in all forms for about 22 years.

I Had Mixed Feelings positive exp #58213

Mixed Experience I had mixed feelings about my experience with suboxone. I was hanging out with a few friends, and one of them offered some to me. I'm usually well educated about a drug before I try it, but with this I wasn't and didn't know what to expect.

A Drug of Choice positive exp #47174

I have had many pleasant times with subutex and it is one of my favorite opioids. I have only tried subutex IV because i like the fast onset of opiates and that I get the 100% bio activaty of the drug.

An Opioid, Music & Catharsis as Creativity Aides positive exp #99823

An Opioid, Music and Catharsis as Creativity Aides Ive just had the most fascinating, fulfilling, and cathartic experience Ive had in a while. As soon as it was over (and even a little before) my first thought was; I cant wait to write a trip report about this when I get home! Ive been doing a series of these rec...

Kind of Like Negative Reinforcement cautionary exp #49652

Unlike most people I know, my first real profound drug experience occured not as a teenager drinking at a party or smoking weed, but with prescription opioids. At about the age of eight, I was unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with a non malignant tumor behind my inner ear that required extremely painful surgery.

One Opiate Abuser's Fall and Rise neutral exp #80514

This is going to be my story of getting addicted to and abusing opiates for three years and how I found the way out of hole that I had gotten myself into. I hope maybe this can help someone who is in the situation that I was in the past few years. I guess I should begin with a little background.

I Ended Up Depressed Over Where I Was At cautionary exp #102577

My Addiction to IV Buprenorphine I got addicted to opiates at the age 16 from abusing prescription pills, first I was sniffing them but soon I had a friend introduce me to using syringes.

It's a Blessing neutral exp #63128

The effects of long-term Buprenorphine/naloxone usage on my body. As well as other observations. Ok, My name is Jeff and Im an addict. I was introduced to Suboxone by my friend Terry who generously gave me some when I desperately needed it.

Bluelight 6 threads 2 positive 1 neutral 3 cautionary visit

Buprenorphine 4 Mgs Over Time An Experience With Pipe Dreams positive

Hey guys. Glad too be here. This just happened to me. I've submitted it to Erowid but from my understanding it could be awhile before it sees the light of day over there. So I'm posting it here. Plus I wanted to share it with you guys.

Suboxone Approx 2mg Suboxone Insufflated First Time Moa cautionary

Clinical History : Highly opiate tolerant, past use includes the majority of all pain control (both IR & ER formulations) opiates most often at or above doses deemed abuse for over 10 years (nonconsistantly). Newly experienced with 8mg Suboxone sublingual tablets.

Bupe Regular User General Tips For Plugging positive

I've seen a lot of questions and misconceptions about plugging bupe. Also, I feel that not everything is completely addressed in the mega-thread. So, here is my 2 cents. I am scripted subutex every month and my favorite ROA by far is plugging.

8mg Buprenorphine Induction Didnt Work At All For Pod Withdrawal Report cautionary

Background: I had been ingesting on average 8-10 oz of raw grounds per day. I have used as much as 28 oz, partly as grounds and partly as tea because it would be nearly impossible to get down that much grounds. I draninking down grounds is much easier than making tea, and it seemed more efficient too.

Buprenorphine 16mg Suboxone Film Very Experienced Everything In Its Right Place cautionary

I have been on buprenorphine maintenance for my previous heroin/painkiller addiction in the form of suboxone/subutex for three years now. Whilst most reports of substances concern new or otherwise unexpected experiences, mine will concern the opposite, the most expected, the routine, the everyday experience of buprenor...

Suboxone 4 Mg Half A Bottle Of Jd Semi Experienced Hospital neutral

It was June of 2011. Having left the homeless shelter in the 3rd largest city in my state, I got a room at a rooming house. I had been there for a few months and knew and partied with most of the residents.

Pill Identifiers

2 known pill identifiers on record — view imprints, colors, shapes, and images

→

Buprenorphine's nerd page Pharmacology, chemical data, effect profiles, and more

→

Helpful Links

💊 Pill Identifier 📘 Experience Reports 📖 dose.wiki 📖 PsychonautWiki

Add missing routes to PsychonautWiki Journal

The PsychonautWiki Journal app already has Buprenorphine, but its built-in entry only covers Insufflated, Sublingual. Here are the other routes we have data for. You can't edit a built-in substance, but you can add a Custom Unit for any of these routes to log it.

⬇ Download import file Import this file as custom substances and you get "Buprenorphine (Substance Search)" with every route's full dose ladder and timeline, no typing. Works on iOS and Android (v15+); the format is confirmed by the app's developer. The manual values below work for older versions.

Duration (reference)

Buprenorphine: routes the PsychonautWiki Journal app is missing
Source: SubstanceSearch (substancesearch.com)


Transdermal duration: onset 12-24h · peak 24-48h · offset 12-24h · total 48-96h · after-effects 24-72h
Intravenous duration: onset 2-5m · come-up 5-15m · peak 0.5-1h · offset 4-8h · total 4.61-9.33h · after-effects 12-24h
Intramuscular duration: onset 15-30m · come-up 0.5-1h · peak 1-2h · offset 4-8h · total 5.75-11.5h · after-effects 12-24h
Oral duration: onset 1-1.5h · peak 1.5-2h · offset 4-8h · total 6.5-11.5h · after-effects 1-16h

Note: ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription. Start low, go slow, and test your substances.

Ranges are harm-reduction guidance, not a prescription.

Report an issue or suggest an edit

Spotted incorrect or dangerous information, have a correction, a new study, or a useful addition for Buprenorphine? Let us know. Reports are reviewed by moderators — this is not posted publicly.

Buprenorphine Well-documented Well-documented Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects. 5 corroborating sources 1 ROA with full dose ladder duration data present 29 combo interactions documented toxicity data (PsychonautWiki, PubChem)

Summary dose.wiki Erowid TripSit PsychonautWiki

Dose Information PsychonautWiki

Sublingual

Onset, Duration & After-effects dose.wiki TripSit PsychonautWiki

Opioid MME Calculator

Tolerance

Cross-Tolerances

Effects Erowid Bluelight

Positive Effects 31

Adverse Effects 33

Combinations

Community Trip Reports

Pill Identifiers

Helpful Links

Report an issue or suggest an edit

Buprenorphine Well-documented

Well-documented

Multiple authoritative sources agree on dosing and effects.

5 corroborating sources

1 ROA with full dose ladder

duration data present

29 combo interactions documented

toxicity data (PsychonautWiki, PubChem)