Syringes

Choosing the right syringe capacity

Wherever possible, 1 ml fixed needle syringes should be preferred as their low dead space reduces the risk of virus transmission if the syringe is shared.

In other situations, the capacity of the syringe can be determined by the user based on the product to be injected and the rate of dilution.

In order to avoid multiple injections, drugs that require a greater rate of dilution should be used with 2.5 ml syringes, 5 ml syringes, or higher.

While this depends on the user, the most commonly used syringes are generally the following:

• 1 ml for heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine
• 2.5 ml for non-prescription opioids (morphine, hydromorphone, etc.)
• 5 ml or higher for certain products, such as methadone syrup

It should be noted that syringes without needles can be used to administer drugs rectally, a practice commonly referred to as "plugging".