Snorting lorazepam

Is snorting lorazepam effective vs taking lorazepam orally? Can snorting lorazepam get you high? What dangers are present and can they be avoided? More on snorting lorazepam effects here.

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If you’re thinking about snorting Ativan to get high on lorazepam, you should be well informed about what happens in the brain and body, both short and long-term.

Although how long lorazepam stays in your system depends more on chronic use vs one time use, snorting lorazepam brings on near immediate onset of action.  Here, we review what happens in the body while snorting lorazepam, as well as the dangers and safety concerns of snorting lorazepam. We welcome all questions about lorazepam at the end of this article, and will try to answer all legitimate questions with a personal reply ASAP.

Lorazepam: What are you really snorting?

Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine medication, and is marketed under the brand name Ativan. Lorazepam, an antianxiety medication, is used to treat panic attacks, but also irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy, insomnia, and other conditions. Lorazepam is the main active ingredient in Ativan, but inactive ingredients that accompany lorazepam might include lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, and polacrilin potassium.

Snorting lorazepam to get high

Lorazepam enters the bloodstream rapidly when snorted, exposing you to much higher doses than you would absorb through the recommended oral route. This raises the risk of adverse side effects – including some that can be life-threatening, like difficulty breathing or irregular heartbeat. How long lorazepam lasts depends on the pharmaceutical preparation of lorazepam and physical condition, but lorazepam effects generally last for 6-8 hours for single doses.

Snorting lorazepam vs oral

Taking lorazepam orally is safer and has fewer complications, since that’s the intended route for the medication. Snorting will cause quicker, more intense effects, but this quick fix has its risks. Overdose on lorazepam can cause a coma or death.

How does snorting lorazepam affect the body?

Lorazepam acts on your central nervous system by slowing brain activity, which relaxes you physically. This action, however, can also have a downside. Minor side effects of using lorazepam include blurred vision, nausea, or appetite changes. However, the risk of adverse side effects increases when you snort lorazepam, as you shock the brain and the body with a high dose of lorazepam at once. Snorting lorazepam can affect your body by causing:

  • blurred vision
  • changes in appetite
  • dizziness
  • drowsiness
  • excitement
  • nausea
  • restlessness

Snorting lorazepam side effects

When taken as prescribed, the side effects of lorazepam usually aren’t serious. Severe side effects from taking lorazepam are fairly rare, and occur more often when the medication is snorted or taken in large doses. These effects include:

  • confusion
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • extreme drowsiness
  • fainting or coma
  • fever
  • irregular heartbeat
  • muscle weakness
  • tremors, inability to sit still
  • severe skin rash
  • yellowing of eyes or skin

Snorting lorazepam dangers

It’s dangerous to snort lorazepam. The risks of extremely low blood pressure, decreased heart rate, and coma are very serious and should be considered if you’re thinking about snorting lorazepam. But nasal inhalation of lorazepam can also make you confused or drowsy, which puts you at risk of injury and accident. Snorting benzodiazepines like lorazepam can also cause damage to your nasal passages, or spread disease if you share snorting instruments. Plus, lorazepam is habit-forming, and snorting it increases your risk of becoming addicted.

If you’ve been abusing lorazepam by snorting it or using it in any other way other than as prescribed…you face an increased risk of developing addiction. You can get answers to all your questions and learn information about the rehab process in our GUIDE on Lorazepam Addiction Treatment Programs and Help.

Snorting lorazepam safely

To be clear, snorting lorazepam is never safe. But you should know something about the maximum recommended doses of lorazepam in order to prevent or reduce harm to yourself if you decide to snort lorazepam. Lorazepam is usually taken in divided doses throughout the day – either 0.5, 1, or 2 mg of lorazepam at a time. The prescribed dosage can range from 1-10 mg/day – but higher doses are usually given only to people who’ve developed a tolerance from long-term use of the medication . 10 mg can be dangerous if you’ve never taken the drug before. Again, that is the per day dosage – that much lorazepam should never be taken all at once.

Snorting lorazepam questions

Do you still have questions about snorting lorazepam? If so, please let us know. We respond to all lorazepam questions with a personal and prompt reply.

Reference Sources: Daily Med: Ativan (lorazepam) tablet
PubMed Health: lorazepam
DEA: Drugs and Chemicals of Concern: Benzodiazepines
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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