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GENERAL INFORMATION:
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BARBITURATESWhat Are Barbiturates? Barbiturates are sedatives. They are among the most versatile depressant drugs. They are man-made. They depress the central nervous system (CNS): the brain and the spinal cord. Used under medical supervision, barbiturates are impres- sively safe and effective. They are widely used and widely distributed legally, but more widely abused and misused illegally. Barbiturates range from the short-acting, fast-starting pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal) and secobarbital sodium (Seconal) to the long-acting, slow-starting phenobarbital (Luminal), amobarbital (Amytal) and butabarbital (Butisol). The short-acting ones, known as "barbs" and "goofballs," are commonly abused. In medically supervised doses, they mildly depress action of the nerves, skeletal muscles and heart muscles. They slow down the heart rate and breathing, lower the blood pressure. They cool the CNS, in brief. They are also used medically as a minor anesthetic. Like morphine, they relieve pain. But unlike morphine, they cannot do so without inducing sleep. In higher doses, the effects are like alcoholic drunkenness: confused mind, blurred vision, slurred speech, lurching walk, deep sleep. Large doses are potentially lethal. Barbiturates constitute a greater menace than alcohol or heroin than is realized. The habitual abuser becomes a tnie drug addict; when barbiturates are withdrawn, he suffers considerable pain. How Are Barbiturates Taken? As capsules and tablets, they are taken orally. But barbiturate salts can be mixed with water and injected. They are also taken rectally, although this is seldom done. In the Far East, they are also smoked. What Are the Barbiturate Initial Effects? The first effects of barbiturates are feelings of elation, wellbeing and tranquility. The user is relaxed, sociable. These initial effects give way to sedation. The mind is now dulled, gets slow in thinking and reasoning. The user loses mental and physical coordination. The user is now also emotionally erratic. He is easily moved to tears or laughter. He gets giddy or gripped by gloom. He also becomes irritable and antagonistic. He bumbles and stumbles. He drops objects. He slurs in his speech. In non-medical, uncontrolled doses, barbiturates get to be toxic (harmful). An abuser may end up with brain and body damages. Are Barbiturates Dangerous? Many people mistakenly believe barbiturates are safe to use freely and as they choose. This belief comes from the fact that these drugs are commonly prescribed by doctors. Thus they approach "sleeping pills" like they do aspirin. This is an often-fatal mistaken belief. The simple fact about barbiturates is: while they have their medical uses, they are tricky and deadly when misused or, worse yet, abused. Barbiturate slows down a man 5 reflexes, distorts how he sees things, confuses his thinking, impairs his judgment, makes him impulsive and can make him drunk, like an alcoholic. Under "barbs," he slurs when he talks, lurches when he walks. His emotions go wild; he gets raw-nerved and combative. Likely, he will go into a deep sleep. But while awake, he is quarrelsome and accident-prone. Abusers react to barbiturate differently at different times: mildly at one time, acutely at other times. Because they are easily confused by the drug, they often confuse how many pills they have taken; they die of accidental overdose. In overdose, worse yet when mixed with alcohol, bar- biturates are lethal. Pneumonia is also an ever-present danger in a "barb" overdose state. Are There Barbiturate Medical Uses? A question often asked is: If barbiturates are that deadly, why are they marketed? The simple "other fact" is: barbiturates have a wide variety of medical uses. They are used by doctors to:
They have been effective, alone or with other drugs, in these and other medical uses. But CAUTION: they must be prescribed only by a doctor, used only under a doctor's supervision. Who Are the Barbiturate Abusers? A cross-section of society abuses barbiturates. In point of Classes, they are:
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