"The Doctor Says You Cannot Have [Buprenorphine]" Autonomy and Use of Prescribed or Non-Prescribed Buprenorphine.

Background: People may overcome barriers to professional buprenorphine treatment by using non-prescribed buprenorphine (NPB) to manage opioid use disorder (OUD). Little is known about how people perceive NPB differently than formal treatment. This qualitative study investigated how and why people use NPB as an alternative to formal treatment.