Chemical explination for my drug experience?

[rabbitweed]

As some of you may know, I'm a first year uni student, and i have yet to cover organic chemistry in any detail (I did a "bridging" course, as I had no chemistry to speak of in high school).

Ok, here's what happened. Last night I did a cold water extraction to get the codeine out of some codeine/paracetemol pills. There was 366mg of codeine in the pills, so I estimate I ingested ~300mg.

I downed it. It tasted terrible:) Very little effect; I got a bit light headed, a bit itchy, everything seemed brighter, and I felt like i had cotton wool in my ears, but that's about it.

So then my friend comes home and we smoke some weed. And...my god. It's like someone flicks a switch in my body. I feel like I'm floating away, that I'm weightless, and yet that I'm heavy at the same time. I close my eyes because everythings so bright, and thousands of images flash and meld together before my eyes. I race from crazy abstract beautiful thought to thought, and try in vain to retrace my steps backwards. I'm no druggy, but it was the most intense and amazing (and a little terrifying) drug experience of my life.

So, my question is, what is it about the marijuana that made the opiate much more effective? I'm assuming my high was an opiate high, because it had this speed of thought and clarity I would not associate with weed.

Any chemical explanation, or links, would be much appreciated.:)

[fuckbiscuit]

As some of you may know, I'm a first year uni student, and i have yet to cover organic chemistry in any detail (I did a "bridging" course, as I had no chemistry to speak of in high school).

Ok, here's what happened. Last night I did a cold water extraction to get the codeine out of some codeine/paracetemol pills. There was 366mg of codeine in the pills, so I estimate I ingested ~300mg.

I downed it. It tasted terrible:) Very little effect; I got a bit light headed, a bit itchy, everything seemed brighter, and I felt like i had cotton wool in my ears, but that's about it.

So then my friend comes home and we smoke some weed. And...my god. It's like someone flicks a switch in my body. I feel like I'm floating away, that I'm weightless, and yet that I'm heavy at the same time. I close my eyes because everythings so bright, and thousands of images flash and meld together before my eyes. I race from crazy abstract beautiful thought to thought, and try in vain to retrace my steps backwards. I'm no druggy, but it was the most intense and amazing (and a little terrifying) drug experience of my life.

So, my question is, what is it about the marijuana that made the opiate much more effective? I'm assuming my high was an opiate high, because it had this speed of thought and clarity I would not associate with weed.

Any chemical explanation, or links, would be much appreciated.:)
Probably just good weed, you'll know if you're high on an opiate.

[Rainycity]

im quessing it was the chemical known as CHEMICAL X.

[rabbitweed]

Probably just good weed, you'll know if you're high on an opiate.

I'd had the weed before, and it wasn't great. It was ok. I certainly didn't have enough to trip me out that much.

It was much different from a weed high.

[fuckbiscuit]

I'd had the weed before, and it wasn't great. It was ok. I certainly didn't have enough to trip me out that much.

It was much different from a weed high.

Thats understandable, but taking only 300mg the weed would have easily out powered the codeine.

[rabbitweed]

Thats understandable, but taking only 300mg the weed would have easily out powered the codeine.

???

The recreational dose of codeine is between 60 mg and 400 mg; the liver cannot metabolize any more than that amount at once.

http://www.addictionca.com/news-left.htm?aid=3128

[fuckbiscuit]

???



http://www.addictionca.com/news-left.htm?aid=3128

Thats irrelevant, its a weak opiate. The itching you got probably was just all you felt. Not being rude here but are you a large fellow?

[rabbitweed]

Thats irrelevant, its a weak opiate. The itching you got probably was just all you felt. Not being rude here but are you a large fellow?

Based on how often I drag myself out for a run these days, I'm probably about 92kg.

I feel the weed must have been interacting with the opiate somehow, even if it wasn't an opiate high, I'm still really curious as to what happened, because it certainly wasn't a pure weed high.

[rabbitweed]

I've done a bit of searching online, and it seems like the marijuana acted as a potentiator to the opiates already in my body.

I'm currently googling away trying to find details of the potentiation proess, but to no avail.

[AdMech]

I always smoke weed with my opioids. I've never read an explanation of how it does it; but I never felt that it changed my high quite that significantly... although I almost never am without weed to smoke, so maybe that's it, heh.

[Von Bass]

I get some fucking ridiculous potentiation between opiods & cannabis. I've told the story before now, but I went from a mild buzz on dihydrocodeine to full on nodding and then passing out after having a spliff.

Chemical explanation, with my knowledge, could only be speculative at best. Perhaps cannabinoids inhibit the release of an enzyme designed to break down molecules that are acting as neurotransmitters? Perhaps opiods do the same, perhaps they somehow generate new sites at which pseudo-neurotransmitters (yes I just made up that word to describe a drug molecule) can bind, thus strengthening the effect?

Either way, enjoy & exploit it :) But don't go too nuts; I was definitely, definitely very fucked up from that combination ;)

[BoilingLeadBath]

Organic chem basically won't help you in understanding nerochem - the molecules involved are too large for you to be able to figure anything out. (molecular weights on the order of a million amu are typical)

**************

Well, I didn't find the article I was looking for, (well, don't think I did), but...

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/306/1/93
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/277/2/586
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0R-3WFN9JG-2&_user=209810&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=994631124&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000014439&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=209810&md5=f5039c1904a32e2043125dbc9f5dc5a2

To quote...
"The well-known antinociceptive effects of opioids are mediated by μ opioid receptors. Several experiments have been performed, in order to investigate a possible interaction between the opioid system and the cannabinoids. It has been shown previously that i.t. administration of Δ9-THC subsequently to pretreatment with morphine results in a greater than additive antinociceptive effect (Welch and Stevens, 1992; Welch et al., 1995; Smith, F.L., Cichewicz, D., Martin, Z.L. and Welch, S.P., 1998. The enhancement of morphine antinociception in mice by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 60, pp. 559–566 Article | PDF (168 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (67)Smith et al., 1998a). The increase in the potency of morphine was independent of the routes of application of Δ9-THC and morphine."

"Additionally, the ED50 (+/- S.E.) of morphine in the tail-flick antinociception procedure was increased by SR141716A (30 mg/kg, i.v.) from 3.2 (+/- 0.3) to 5.3 (+/- 0.6) mg/kg"
(SR141716A is a CB1 antagonist)

[Hydroponichronic]

Well, it may seem simple, but I have an idea. How long between the ingestion of codeine and smoking the weed was there? Codeine is active primarily because it gets demethylated into morphine. The cleavage of the phenyl ether could take a significant amount of time (you try cleaving a phenyl ether, see how long it takes you). Alternatively, depending on what you had eaten pre ingestion (how much and how long ago) the codeine might not have entered your bloodstream in quantity until you smoked the weed (ie, coincidence).

[stateofhack]

Well, it may seem simple, but I have an idea. How long between the ingestion of codeine and smoking the weed was there? Codeine is active primarily because it gets demethylated into morphine. The cleavage of the phenyl ether could take a significant amount of time (you try cleaving a phenyl ether, see how long it takes you). Alternatively, depending on what you had eaten pre ingestion (how much and how long ago) the codeine might not have entered your bloodstream in quantity until you smoked the weed (ie, coincidence).

This calls for human trials;)

Anyone want to sponsor me :p or labrat?

[sexualjesus]

heres something i know from experience.

ive taken 500mg of codeine and didnt get high, but then again i took 300 and got high after ive had a cigarette, tobacco is a potentiator as far as experience and literature tells me, either way if you used spin, that would maybe be it

[Rizzo in a box]

I have my own explanations but they have little to do with chemistry. Science is more for manipulating consciousness than understanding it.

[Tybalt]

Both tobacco and cannabis are known potentiators of some opiates, but its very possible that you had a time delay effect.

Its one of those things that you should really test out for us and come back with an answer.