Smoke inhalation administration routes

For recreational use, cocaine (hydrochloride salt) is often administered by nasal insufflation ( snorting ) or less frequently, intravenously. Cocaine is more volatile when converted from the salt to the freebase therefore freebase cocaine may be inhaled by smoking. This latter route of administration results in a rapid onset of action. It has gained increased popularity owing to the ready availabihty of the freebase cocaine form known as crack. Consequently the number of emergency room admissions related to cocaine toxicity has increased. 

Information on the mutagenic potential of SNA Is almost completely lacking. A single abstract reported the cytogenetic effect of chronic use of the drug over 2-3 yr by one male and four females 18-26 yr old. The most frequent route of administration was Inhalation of smoke from a blend of SNA and marijuana. No chromosomal abnormalities were found In this limited investigation. 8... 

Drugs may be atomized or volatilized and inhaled as droplets or particulates in air a common example is the smoking of drugs. The advantages of this route include rapid transport into the blood, avoidance of first pass hepatic metabolism, and avoidance of the medical problems associated with other routes of illicit drug administration. Disadvantages include local irritant effect on the... 

Perez-Reyes et al.8 estimated that only 32% of a dose of cocaine base placed in a pipe is actually inhaled by the smoker. Cone9 compared the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cocaine by the intravenous, intranasal, and smoked routes of administration in the same subjects. Venous plasma cocaine concentrations peaked within 5 min by the intravenous and smoked routes. Estimated peak cocaine concentrations ranged from 98 to 349 ng/ml and 154 to 345 ng/ml after intravenous administration of 25-mg cocaine hydrochloride and 42-mg cocaine base by the smoked route, respectively. After dosing by the intranasal route (32 mg cocaine hydrochloride) estimated peak plasma cocaine concentrations ranged from 40 to 88 ng/ml after 0.39 to 0.85 h.9 In this study, the average bioavailability of cocaine was 70.1% by the smoked route and 93.7% by the intranasal route. Jenkins et al.10 described the correlation between pharmacological effects and plasma cocaine concentrations in seven volunteers after they had smoked 10 to 40 mg cocaine. The mean plasma... 

Cannabis may be administered by inhalation or ingestion. The flowering tops or leaves are chopped and rolled in cigarette paper for smoking, or are added to food. The effects of intoxication vary with the dose and route of administration. The effects are... 

To avoid some of the problems associated with the smoked route of administration (i.e., with inhalation of burning plant material), methods are being developed for inhalation of pure THC via either nebulizer or metered dose inhaler (63). 

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