Can Butrans Make You High?

Butrans is a prescription pain medication that contains buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat moderate to severe chronic pain. The medication comes as a skin patch that slowly releases the drug over several days. When people use Butrans exactly as their doctor prescribes, it typically doesn’t produce a high or euphoric feeling. Instead, patients usually feel normal and experience pain relief without significant mood changes.

However, Butrans does have potential for abuse and can cause a high under certain circumstances. Some people may experience mild euphoria even when using the patch correctly, especially when first starting treatment. The risk of getting high increases significantly when people misuse Butrans by tampering with the patch. Extracting the liquid medication from the patch and then injecting or snorting it can produce stronger euphoric effects.

That said, buprenorphine has what’s called a “ceiling effect,” meaning there’s a limit to how high a person can get regardless of how much they take. This built-in safety feature prevents the intense highs associated with other opioids, but it doesn’t eliminate abuse potential or health risks completely.

Read more about the recreational use of Butrans

How Does Butrans Make You High?

Many people extract the liquid from Butrans patches and then inject or snort the medication. This is an abuse of the substance and can cause euphoric feelings. It’s also possible for some non-opioid-tolerant patients to feel high while using Butrans. For those with a low tolerance to opioids, using Butrans for the first time can make them feel high.

Even so, this “high” is very mild. And for those who are opioid-tolerant, they will not have the same high that they would get from other illicit opioid drugs.

The Ceiling Effect Of Butrans

Though it is possible to feel mild euphoria off Butrans alone, taking more of the substance will not generate any further feelings of euphoria. Butrans has a ceiling effect, meaning once certain levels of the substance have entered the body, taking more and more of that substance will not increase any of the effects.

If a person continues to take more Butrans, it will not lead to any more euphoria once it’s reached its ceiling.

Do People Mix Butrans With Substances To Enhance A High?

Some people mix Butrans with other substances, such as alcohol or other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, to achieve a stronger high. Mixing Butrans with other substances can be very dangerous and could lead to a fatal overdose of one or both of the substances.

Mixing Butrans And Alcohol/CNS Depressants To Get High

Mixing buprenorphine and CNS depressants like alcohol will add to the effects of those depressants, which can enhance the feeling of getting high off Butrans. A person may feel highly sedated, calm, and experience pleasant feelings when using depressants and Butrans together.

But CNS depressants slow the body down, and mixing these with Butrans can lead to severe respiratory depression or complete breathing failure. Depressants can also affect the metabolism of Butrans, which can lead to a fatal overdose on Butrans.

Mixing Butrans And Opioids To Get High

Some people mistakenly believe that combining Butrans with other opioid drugs will create a stronger high. In reality, mixing these substances produces the opposite effect. Buprenorphine, the active ingredient in Butrans, actually blocks other opioids from working properly in the brain. This unique property makes it impossible to get high from other opioids while buprenorphine is in your system.

Buprenorphine works by attaching tightly to opioid receptors in the brain. Once it locks onto these receptors, it prevents other opioid drugs from binding to the same spots. If someone uses heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl, or any other opioid while taking Butrans, those drugs cannot produce their typical effects. The person won’t experience euphoria or pain relief from the additional opioid because the buprenorphine is blocking the receptors.

This blocking effect is why buprenorphine is commonly used in addiction treatment to help people stop using other opioids. However, mixing these substances is still dangerous and can cause serious health complications, even if it doesn’t produce a high.

Written by the Addiction Resource Editorial Staff