What Does Suboxone Look Like?

Suboxone is a drug that is used as a prescription medication to treat opiate addiction. It has been on the market since 2002 and has been very successful in helping people suffering from opioid addiction.  Today we will discuss what Suboxone looks like, as well as why you should be mindful of where your medication comes from.

What Does Suboxone Look Like? 

The drug is taken in the form of a film that dissolves under the tongue. It can also be applied to the inside of the cheek, but this method has been less effective than using it under the tongue.  The color is a light orange color, and it often has a small amount of artificial sweetener inside to help improve the taste. 

The active ingredients in Suboxone are buprenorphine and naloxone. Suboxone contains between 2-3mg of buprenorphine with 0.65mg of naloxone. 

Is There Anything Wrong With My Suboxone? 

Due to the recent emergence of counterfeit suboxone pills, it is possible that you may have received a counterfeit pill in place of the drug you think you purchased (Obtaining suboxone illegally). These pills are easily available on the black market and may even come with instructions that look legitimate. 

The biggest difference between real suboxone and fake is that the actual dose will be much lower than what is listed on the medication, or there can be a completely different drug in the pill altogether. This is particularly concerning with the emergence of large amounts of cheap fentanyl showing up in counterfeit opioids such as hydrocodone or oxycodone pills.  

What Forms Does Suboxone Come In?

Pill form - These pills are a light orange color and usually have the words "buprenorphine/ naloxone" written on them somewhere. 

Film form - These are small pieces of plasticized paper that dissolve under the tongue. They are a light orange color with "buprenorphine/ naloxone" written on them somewhere. 

Suboxone also comes in the following generics:

-Subutex, generally comes in an oval-shaped, white, sublingual tablet. This pill often comes in 2mg and 8mg forms. Generally, Subutex has the writing B2 for (2mg) and B8 for (8mg) on one side of the pill. 

-Zubsolv, comes in a round, white sublingual, pill tablet. Normally the tablet will be scored with 1.4 or 5.7 on it representing the number of milligrams present in each tablet. 

All of these generics may look slightly different than what is listed above as they contain slightly different doses of buprenorphine and naloxone, but the active ingredients should always be present. You should never purchase medication from anywhere but a pharmacy. If you do end up taking medicine that you do not know where it originated, always confirm the medication appears to be authentic. Always keep in mind that if you get Suboxone from an unconfirmed source, it might result in a false positive for other illicit drugs.

The recent emergence of counterfeit suboxone pills is a problem because it can lead to false positives for other illicit drugs. If you have been prescribed Suboxone and are unsure about the authenticity, always contact your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medication. You should also visit www.Suboxonedoctor.com if you want more information on how these medications work and how to find a doctor to prescribe them!