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Suboxone, an oral drug used to treat opioid dependence, contains both buprenorphine (a partial agonist) and naloxone (an antagonist).

Buprenorphine binds to mu receptors, causing euphoria and sedation; however, it does not bind to kappa receptors, which cause hallucinations. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids, including those caused by buprenorphine. Thus, if someone takes suboxone and then ingests heroin, the heroin will not produce any effect because naloxone will block it. However, if someone who is already high on heroin consumes suboxone, they may experience withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, muscle aches, fever, chills, sweating, goose bumps, yawning, shivering, malaise, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, weakness, fatigue, insomnia, restlessness, irritability, anxiety, nervousness, tremor, tachycardia, palpitations, shortness of breath, increased blood pressure, blurred vision, confusion, delirium, seizures, coma, respiratory depression, bradycardia, or even cardiac arrest.
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