摘要
In preparation for a trial on co-prescription of inhalable heroin and methadone, two methods for inhalation of heroin/caffeine tablets were compared: the commonly used method of ‘chasing the dragon’ and a standardised procedure for inhalation of volatilised heroin, using a heating device. Five male addicts inhaled a tablet of smokable heroin daily for 5 days, alternating the inhalation method. Plasma concentrations of heroin, 6-acetylmorphine, morphine and morphine-3- and -6-glucuronide were determined using a liquid chromatography method with tandem mass spectrometric detection. The exposure to heroin and its metabolites (expressed as areas under the concentration–time curve) was significantly lower after smoking via the heating device than after ‘chasing the dragon’: heroin 80%and 6-acetylmorphine 73%lower (p<0.05). Maximal concentrations of heroin and 6-acetylmorphine were also 80%and 70%lower (p<0.05) after using the heating device. ‘Chasing the dragon’ is a more efficient inhalation method than inhalation via the heating device.