Can You Smoke Gabapentin?

Can you smoke Gabapentin? Dangers, causes of addiction, statistics, and treatment options.


Can You Smoke Gabapentin?

Can you smoke Gabapentin on foil? Yes, but it is a sign of drug misuse. Prescription drug smoking, injecting Gabapentin, and snort Gabapentin are significant drug trends among socially active youth. It is associated with drug problems and dependence symptoms net of abuse frequency. Prevention and intervention efforts for young adults who misuse prescription drugs should address the issue of Gabapentin smoking and Gabapentin snorting, and this may be an area for clinicians to address with their patients.

How to smoke Gabapentin? Gabapentin smoking includes the inhalation of prescription pills through smoking or vaporization. Why do people snort gabapentin? The transition to smoking prescription pills is significant for young people because it escalates drug use. Thus, being high on Gabapentin.

The normative manner of drug consumption for pills is oral consumption, an act reinforced by the standard pattern of use as pharmaceuticals. As such, pill smoking represents a more extreme form of prescription drug misuse that decreases the onset of drug effects and increases the intensity of the high. [6]

What Is Gabapentin?

Can you smoke Gabapentin? Before answering, let us determine first what it is and its uses.

Gabapentin capsules, tablets, and oral solutions are used with other medications to help control certain types of seizures in people with epilepsy. The following are the main uses of the drug:

  • Gabapentin capsules, tablets, and oral solutions are also used to relieve the pain of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN; the burning, stabbing pain or aches that may last for months or years after an attack of shingles)
  • Gabapentin extended-release tablets (Horizant) are used to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS; a condition that causes discomfort in the legs and a strong urge to move the legs, especially at night and when sitting or lying down)
  • Gabapentin is an anti-epileptic agent that has shown preliminary evidence of efficacy for improving symptoms of cocaine addiction and alcohol withdrawal in pilot studies. Since the neurobiology of alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine withdrawal is similar, the efficacy of gabapentin for symptoms of alcohol and cocaine withdrawal suggests that gabapentin might likely help nicotine withdrawal symptoms and, thus, tobacco abstinence [1]

Gabapentin is in a class of medications called anticonvulsants. [2] Gabapentin treats seizures by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain. Gabapentin relieves PHN’s pain by changing how the body senses pain. It is not known exactly how gabapentin works to treat restless legs syndrome. Can you smoke Gabapentin? Yes, but beware of this type of consumption as it is a significant sign of developing an addiction to the drug.

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The Dangers Of Gabapentin

Gabapentin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

  • Drowsiness
  • Tiredness or weakness
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Uncontrollable shaking of a part of your body
  • Double or blurred vision
  • Unsteadiness
  • Anxiety
  • Memory problems
  • Strange or unusual thoughts
  • Unwanted eye movements
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Heartburn
  • Diarrhea
  • Dry mouth
  • Constipation
  • Increased appetite
  • Weight gain
  • Swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
  • Back or joint pain
  • Fever
  • Runny nose, sneezing, cough, sore throat, or flu-like symptoms
  • Ear pain
  • Red, itchy eyes (sometimes with swelling or discharge)

Can you smoke Gabapentin? Yes, but it will only increase the effects of the drug, which can only bring harmful side effects. Some side effects may be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

  • Rash
  • Itching
  • Swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, or eyes
  • Hoarseness
  • Difficulty swallowing or breathing
  • Seizures
  • Difficulty breathing; bluish-tinged skin, lips, or fingernails; confusion; or extreme sleepiness

Smoking Gabapentin may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.

Can You Smoke Gabapentin?
Can you smoke Gabapentin? Yes. Smoking a drug is the fastest way to get it to reach the brain. However, it can also increase the addictiveness of the substance.
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Is Gabapentin Addictive?

Can you smoke Gabapentin? There have been numerous documented cases of gabapentin smoking, abuse, dependence, and withdrawal. Even though gabapentin is sometimes considered a treatment option for alcohol and substance abuse, it is essential to monitor drug-seeking behaviors.

A history of alcohol or substance abuse appears to be an important part of a patient’s medical history when evaluating their risk for addiction and dependence. Healthcare providers must be aware of this risk in their patients and monitor them for signs of abuse, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms. [3]

Can You Get Addicted To Gabapentin?

Gabapentin, a gamma-aminobutyric acid analog drug, appears to be safe and efficacious for treating alcohol dependence. Can you get high from Gabapentin? Gabapentin is not a controlled drug, but there are anecdotal reports of its misuse and abuse and reports of withdrawal symptoms associated with abrupt discontinuation.

Can you get high off of Gabapentin? The risk of gabapentin misuse is inconsistent, the magnitude of the risk is small, and the risk is not comparable to the much higher risks associated with alcohol use, benzodiazepine addiction, opioid addiction, stimulant drug use, or illicit drug use. Reports of gabapentin misuse are not unique to this drug, as misuse of prescription medications not typically considered “drugs of abuse” can also occur. [4]

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How Does A Gabapentin Addiction Grow?

Can you smoke Gabapentin? Do people snort Gabapentin? Who does this? Prevalence of gabapentin recreational misuse in the general population was reported to be 1%, 40-65% among individuals with prescriptions, and between 15 and 22% within populations of people who abuse opioids. An array of subjective experiences reminiscent of opioids, benzodiazepines, and psychedelics were reported over various doses, including those within clinical recommendations. The same goes for when you want to discover, “Can I snort Gabapentin?” “Can you Snort Gabapentin?”

Gabapentin was misused primarily for recreational purposes (Recreational Gabapentin), self-medication, or intentional self-harm. It was misused alone or in combination with other substances, especially opioids, benzodiazepines, and/or alcohol. Individuals with histories of drug abuse were most often involved in its misuse. Gabapentin smoking is one example.

Epidemiological and case report evidence suggests that the anti-epileptic and analgesic medication gabapentin is being misused internationally, with substance abuse populations at special risk for misuse/abuse.

How can you determine someone has already developed substance abuse to a certain drug? Can you smoke Gabapentin to abuse the drug?

Substance use disorders are defined as a pattern of use that results in marked distress and/or impairment, with two or more of the following symptoms for 12 months:

  1. Using the substance in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended
  2. Unsuccessful attempts or a persistent desire to reduce the use
  3. Too much time is spent on obtaining, using, and/or recovering from the effects of the substance
  4. An intense craving for the substance
  5. Significant interference with roles at work, school, or home
  6. Continued use despite recurrent social or interpersonal consequences
  7. Reducing or giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of the substance use
  8. Substance use in situations in which it may be physically hazardous
  9. Substance use despite recurrent or persistent physical or psychological consequences
  10. Tolerance of the substance
  11. Withdrawal from the substance [5]

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Smoking Gabapentin Powder

How do you smoke Gabapentin? Smoking Gabapentin is one of the most common ways of taking it; it also happens to be the fastest way to get the medicine into your bloodstream. Smoking Gabapentin seeps into your bloodstream through the lungs, allowing it to travel quickly to the brain. The effects of smoking Gabapentin and Gabapentin snorting are immediate and strong.

How to get high off Gabapentin? Gabapentin smoking and Gabapentin snorted have become significant drug trends among young people who misuse prescription drugs. It is associated with drug problems and symptoms of dependence. Heterosexual youth are more likely to smoke prescription drugs or sniffing Gabapentin than gay/lesbian youth. Young adults in electronic dance music nightlife may benefit from prevention and intervention efforts targeting Gabapentin smoking. Future studies should identify relationships between Gabapentin smoking and other risk behaviors. Prevention and intervention efforts for young people who misuse prescription drugs more broadly should be informed by the issue of smoking Gabapentin. This may be an area for clinicians to address with their adolescent patients. [7]

It is important to note that gabapentin smoking will impose several adverse effects on the user. It is a medication used to treat epilepsy. Gabapentin and smoking shouldn’t be a notion since this is a dangerous method that could result in serious health problems, such as an overdose of the drug or damage to the nasal tissue. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not smoke gabapentin. This will also be the case if you want to know, “What happens if you snort Gabapentin?”.

Gabapentin Overdose Is Possible

In case of emergency/overdose:

Sniffing Gabapentin or Snorted Gabapentin has a higher chance of a drug overdose. If the victim snorting Gaba or snorting Gabapentin has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can’t be awakened, immediately call emergency services at 911.

Symptoms of overdose may include the following:

  • Double vision
  • Slurred speech
  • Drowsiness
  • Diarrhea
Can Gabapentin Be Smoked?
Can gabapentin be smoked? Yes, but regularly smoking a drug can lead to lung problems, heart problems, infections, and diseases.

Startling Gabapentin Statistics

In 2004, gabapentin was prescribed over 18 million times. As of 2019, the number of prescriptions for this drug has increased to over 45 million. Gabapentin is primarily used to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain, hot flashes, and restless legs syndrome. [8]

A gabapentin overdose is possible. However, this possibility is shocking because, since its creation in the 1980s, gabapentin has been widely believed to be relatively harmless with no danger of misuse. This anti-seizure medication has begun to draw national attention as alarming new trends show rising instances of abuse and directly-related fatalities.

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Most gabapentin fatalities are caused by its use in conjunction with another drug. However, that’s not to say this drug doesn’t have the potential to be dangerous. In cases where gabapentin was the direct cause of death, blood concentrations of this medication ranged from 1.1 to 134 mg/L.

The FDA has reported gabapentin overdoses of individuals who ingested 49 grams of the medication. Unfortunately, there have only been a handful of studies surrounding gabapentin toxicity, so the amount of gabapentin it takes to overdose or causes a fatality has yet to be determined. [9]

Unfortunately, there is no known medication to reverse the effects of a gabapentin overdose. Can you smoke Gabapentin? Yes, but unfortunately, while some of the side effects can be mild, oxygen deprivation and seizures can be deadly and cause irreversible damage. However, the best way to prevent an overdose is to curb abuse – of either this medication or another drug – in the first place.

Addiction Treatment

Someone with an addiction to gabapentin and mental health disorders must treat both conditions. You need to stop using alcohol or drugs for the treatment to be effective. Treatments may include behavioral therapies and medications. Also, support groups can give you emotional and social support. They are also a place where people can share tips about how to deal with day-to-day challenges.

A good dual diagnosis treatment program and drug addiction therapy facility need to be able to treat both conditions without treating one as the sole cause of the other. Addiction is a complicated disease and no one thing is to blame for it. There are various options available to handle drug addiction therapy.

Receive treatment for co-occurring disorders today.

As the addiction treatment community realizes that addiction is a mental disorder, the relationship between mental health and addiction disorders becomes more complicated. The greater treatment community largely lacks a proper understanding of dually diagnosed conditions, so these conditions are still treated separately or worse–not treated or diagnosed. Dual diagnosis treatment centers in We Level Up Florida, California, Texas, and New Jersey are some facilities that have professionals trained to help treat co-occurring disorders concurrently. This type of tandem treatment provides some of the best success rates.

Get dual diagnosis treatment for individuals suffering from gabapentin drug addiction and mental health issues. Call us today! Can gabapentin be smoked? Contact our addiction specialist to discuss further details and treatment options for you.

Can Gabapentin Be Smoked?
Can gabapentin be smoked? Yes, when abused. If you or a loved one is addicted to prescription drugs, contact We Level Up for a professional addiction rehab program.
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Sources:

[1] Gabapentin for Smoking Cessation – https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00578552
[2] Gabapentin – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health
[3] Gabapentin: Abuse, Dependence, and Withdrawal – National Center for Biotechnology Information
[4] Gabapentin: can it be misused? – National Center for Biotechnology Information
[5] Adapted from American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5®). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
[6] Chasing the Bean: Prescription Drug Smoking among Socially Active Youth – National Center for Biotechnology Information
[7] NCBI – Chasing the Bean: Prescription Drug Smoking among Socially Active Youth
[8] The number of gabapentin prescriptions in the U.S. from 2004 to 2019 – https://www.statista.com/statistics/781648/gabapentin-prescriptions-number-in-the-us/#:~:text=Number%20of%20gabapentin%20prescriptions%20in%20the%20U.S.%202004%2D2019&text=This%20statistic%20shows%20the%20total,increased%20to%20over%2045%20million
[9] Is A Gabapentin Overdose Possible? by Level Up Lake Worth