Sedatives

Small doses of sedatives will relax the user, larger doses will produce sleep. One of the most deadly combinations of psychotic drugs is the mixture of alcohol with any of the sedatives. Each multiplies the effect of the other. Sometimes the effect becomes stronger than the body can handle. The result of this mixture can slow down breathing so much that the brain becomes oxygen–starved. Coma, permanent physical damage or death may result. Barbiturates and tranquilizers are two kinds of sedatives that are produced in the laboratory.

Barbiturates
Some of these are phenobarbitone, gardenal, huminal, butobarbitone, soneryl, secobarbitones. Doctors have been prescribing barbiturates to patients so that they can fall sleep and stay asleep. It was soon found that taking smaller doses of barbiturates brought about feelings of being drowsy while still awake. These feelings are similar to those produced by alcohol. Because barbiturates produce pleasant feelings, they are often used by people who do not need them, and they are often over–used by people who do need them. Overdose of barbiturates are common. If it takes one pill to produce sleep, it might take five pills to produce a coma and only ten pills to cause death. This is a narrow range of safe use and therefore it is important to follow the doctor’s instructions on the dosage.

Using regularly more barbiturates than the doctor prescribes can lead to psychological and then physiological dependence. The physical dependence is just as severe as heroin dependence, and withdrawal is even more physically dangerous. Without medical supervision barbiturate withdrawal can lead to death. Many abusers of narcotics turn to barbiturates when they cannot get enough narcotics to support their habits. Abusers of stimulants and hallucinogens sometimes take barbiturates to help them in calming their drug related tension. An intoxicated ‘Down head’ acts like a drunk. The person slurs over words and has trouble with simple physical movements like waking, and may suddenly become sleepy and ‘Nod off’.

Tranquilizers
These are sedatives used to calm or quieten a person’s emotions without changing the ability to think clearly or stay alert. They do not have as strong a sedative effect as barbiturates, but they can relax a person so that sleep is possible. Although these are prescribed freely by doctors to help the patients to handle their nervous feelings, they have to be treated with care. Over doses can result from taking many tranquilizers at one time, and it is possible to develop both a physical and psychological dependence on them. Methaqualone is one of the newer abused sedatives which goes under different names, Quaaludes, ludes, sopors, and love drug, because some users think they can enjoy sex more when they take it.

Methaqualone was first thought to be free from the main dangers of barbiturates–over dose and dependence. But this is not true. a user can develop a psychological and physical dependence on Methaqualone and is liable to over dose himself. And there is another serious problem. As a party drug it can be combined thoughtlessly with alcohol with the danger which has already been stated.

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