Effects - Codeine vs Morphine

[Madcow]

My pet gopher has taken both codeine and morphine on separate occasions. He has very little opiate tolerance, but a bit of experience with different opiates.

My gopher enjoys other opiates/oids much more than both morphine and codeine, but if there's nothing around he enjoys taking one or the other in such occasions. One strange effect, though, was that hes found that even a low dose of codeine (~90mg) produces more euphoria than morphine. He found this odd, seeing as though codeine is a pro-drug which gets metabolized INTO morphine. What could this strange phenomenon be about?

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It could be for the reason that oral morphine has a very low bioavailability compared with oral codeine (20-25% for morphine and 80-90% for codeine). This is because codeine is quickly absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, and because that almost the 90% of oral morphine is converted into neutral metabolites in the liver.

Maybe you should take a bigger dose. The equivalence between codeine and morphine (both orally) is around 200mg = 30mg.

·.·.·.·.·.· added 1 Minutes and 35 Seconds later...

Did I say you? I meant to say your pet gopher.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good post, helpful BA facts, and good use of a pet gopher!
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[onzero]

+1^

oral morphine you'd have to take a dose at about 1/2 codeine dosage to get the same effects... it'll be a little stronger orally, but not much...

oral morphine you get 1/3 bioavailability if you're lucky.

i think about 60mg oral morph would be equivalent to maybe

swim dont' like morphine, he tried it orally... didn't really like codeine much either... vikes and percs get it right

[Madcow]

Agreed, oxy/hydrocodone/morphone are best, according to my gopher.. But when it's the only thing available, he deals with what hes got =)

Strange thing is, codeine seems to feel more euphoric (marginally), but in the analgesic/sedation department, morphine takes the cake. Maybe the euphoria (or lack thereof) has something to do with it being overtaken by the powerful sedation of the morphine as well as dosage? Because my gopher has taken upwards of 45mg (in his earlier opiate days, mind you) and felt the euphoria which was quickly surpassed by extreme sedation. So possibly, yes?

[gmeziscool2354]

the euphoria dif is probably due to the fact codeine is getting into the blood and then to the brain faster. thats why heroine produces even more euphoria, it reaches the brain the fastest (and thus all at once) of any opiate that i know of