Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
MS Contin
Introduction
MS Contin® is a time-released formulation of morphine, usually taken every twelve hours for chronic pain. It is the brand name for morphine sulfate marketed by Purdue Pharma.
It is available in tablet and liquid formulas in doses of 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20mg, 30mg, 60mg, 100mg and 200mg. Due to its strength, it is typically prescribed to cancer patients and victims of severe but non-cognitive-damaging trauma.
Like its relative cousin OxyContin, MS Contin has been the subject of pharmacy robberies. It is considered particularly dangerous to recreational drug users who are unaware that the time-release mechanism is a wax inside of the pill (not the colored coating on the outside) that, when heated, expands and encases the morphine sulfate. The danger presented to drug users who prefer intravenous/intramuscular injection is the wax.
MS Contin is a DEA Schedule II substance in the United States. Alternative formulations made and marketed by other pharmaceutical companies include Ligand‘s Avinza® and Faulding Laboratories‘ Kadian®.