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| Tranquillizers |
What Are Depressants?
Depressants are a group of drugs that depress the central nervous
system. Taken as prescribed, depressants often help relieve anxiety, tension,
insomnia, muscle spasms, and irritability. When abused, like many other drugs,
they are addictive. The most common depressants are alcohol, barbiturates,
tranquilizers, rohypnol, placidly, xanex and valium. The most common depressant
is alcohol. People use alcohol to relax, to ease tension, and to help them
forget their problems. It's also legal to all adults. This probably explains
why alcohol is the most commonly abused of all drugs.
What Are The
Effects Of Depressants?
Doctors to relieve anxiety or treat
insomnia prescribe barbiturates, sedatives, and tranquilizers. Popularly known
as downers, these drugs depress the activity of the brain and can be helpful
when taken under medical supervision. In excessive amounts their effects are
similar to alcohol intoxication, yet they can be extremely dangerous. An
overdose of depressants causes slurred speech, impaired coordination, and
irregular breathing. A heavy overdose can result in muscle spasms, vomiting,
convulsions, unconsciousness, and death. Continued use may lead to dependence
and increased tolerance. Users need larger and larger doses to get the same
effect, which brings them, continually closer to the fatal dose. Overdose is
more likely to occur when users mix depressants with alcohol. Users become
disoriented, confused, and can't remember how much they took. The list of
people who have died from depressants and alcohol is long. A few of the better
known are Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Janis Joplin.
What Are
Barbiturates?
More than 2,500 varieties of barbiturates exist.
Doctors prescribe barbiturates to treat anxiety, agitation, and insomnia, and
give them to patients before surgery to make them drowsy. Some barbiturates
help control medical conditions such as high blood pressure, epilepsy, and
ulcers. However, barbiturates are also sold in the illegal drug market with
street names like "downers" and "goof balls." People under the influence of
barbiturates behave as if they are drunk on alcohol. They lose their
inhibitions and show marked changes in their behavior. In many individuals,
side effects include nausea, nervousness, rash, and diarrhea. People on
barbiturates may have difficulty thinking and making decisions; they may be
emotionally unstable, lack coordination, be disoriented, and have slurred
speech.
What Are Tranquilizers?
Tranquilizers are drugs that calm people with paranoia or
nervous disorders. As an addictive drug, however, no substance other than
alcohol has had a greater negative effect on the public. Until the 1940s,
people relied on alcohol to reduce anxiety and to relax. Beginning in 1951,
they turned to tranquilizers. Milton, an early tranquilizer, was first used as
a muscle relaxer, then as a tension reliever. In 1960, a new tranquilizer came
on the market benzodiazepine. Today Benzodiazepine is sold under the names
Xanex, Adivan, Klonopine, Valium and Librium. "Benzo's" quickly became the
primary tranquilizer of choice.
What Is Chloral Hydrate?
Chloral Hydrate, or "knock out drops," is a drug slipped into a drink to make a
person unconscious. Combining chloral hydrate and alcohol creates what is known
as a "Mickey Finn." Chloral hydrate takes effect in about 30 minutes. It
irritates the stomach lining, especially if taken repeatedly. Long-term use of
large doses of the drug causes physical dependence.
What Is
Rohypnol?
Primarily used by partygoers and nightclub attendees,
Rohypnol, or "Roofie," "Circles," "Rope," "Forget Pill," and "R-Z," is
sometimes slipped into a drink to make a person unconscious much like the
fabled "Mickey Finn." Rohypnol is smuggled into the United States from other
countries, where it is used to treat insomnia, anxiety, convulsions and muscle
tension. It can cause drowsiness, dizziness, loss of coordination, memory loss
and an upset stomach. At higher doses it causes coma, respiratory depression
and death.
What Is Placidyl and Quaalude?
Placidyl is a
short-term sedative hypnotic drug. It causes side effects such as facial
numbness, blurred vision, nausea, dizziness, gastric problems, and skin rashes.
Combined with alcohol, Placidyl can kill. Quaalude or methaqualone, is a
barbiturate-like, sedative-hypnotic drug. Quaalude was first introduced as an
anti-malaria drug in the 1950s. After years of abuse, Quaalude distribution and
prescriptions became strictly controlled. Because of adverse publicity,
methaqualone has not been manufactured in the United States since 1985, though
large amounts are still illegally imported. Severe overdoses cause delirium,
convulsions and seizures.
Is It Dangerous To Mix Depressants With
Other Drugs?
Drug abuse is a vicious cycle. Users often take drugs
to counter the effect of other drugs they are taking. But, taken in combination
with alcohol or other drugs, depressants can kill. Because of their
anti-depressant effects, cocaine users take depressants to reduce the
depression at the end of a binge. Drug users commonly are cross-addicted.
Alcoholics use depressants to reduce the withdrawal from alcohol. Alcoholics
also use depressants to become intoxicated, without the associated odor of
alcohol. Mixing depressants and alcohol can depress the respiratory and
cardiovascular systems, often with deadly consequences. Because knowledge of
this dangerous drug interaction is common, many people attempt suicide by
taking high doses of depressants with alcohol. |
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