Barbiturates, Research Paper Example

Introduction

As a drug and controlled substance, barbiturates (barbituric acid) is a synthetic drug made by numerous drug pharmaceutical companies. Chemically, barbiturates “act as depressants of the central nervous system,” such as with sleeping pills, and was initially created in the laboratory in 1864, however, pharmacological barbiturates did not become commonplace until the early years of the 20th century. Today, the most common form of a barbiturate is phenobarbital, “synthesized in 1911 and first used clinically the following year.” In total, there are about 2500 different types of barbiturates, but only fifty or so are used for medical purposes, such as with prescriptive sedatives (“Barbiturates”). Currently, barbiturates like phenobarbital are not widely prescribed by physicians, due to its addictive properties and dangerous side-effects. But some barbiturates continue to be used in psychiatry for treating epilepsy and as a powerful anesthetic (Barbiturates”).

Barbiturate Statistics

The use of barbiturates by the general public took off during the 1950’s and 1960’s in the form of sleeping pills and other sleep-inducing drugs. The peak year of consumption was 1966 when more than 16 million prescriptions were filled by physicians in the United States alone. It was also during this period that barbiturates became popular as street drug (“What Are Barbiturates?”). By the 1970’s, the number of people overdosing on barbiturates like phenobarbital escalated which led to a nationwide campaign concerning the dangers of the drug. This campaign was a bit late, however, because between 1959 and 1974, an estimated 27,000 people in the U.S. died as a result of barbiturate overdose or by combining the drug with another substance like amphetamines (“What Are Barbiturates?”).

Pharmaceutical vs. Street Barbiturates

The are currently five specific barbiturate drugs that are either prescribed by physicians or sold as illegal street drugs, due to the fact that barbiturates are a controlled substance, much like morphine and codeine–1), amobarbital (blue velvet, blue devils); 2), pentobarbital (yellow jackets, Mexican yellows); 3), phenobarbital (purple hearts, goofballs); 4), secobarbital (reds, pink ladies); and 5), tuinal (rainbows, gorilla pills)

(“Barbiturate Abuse”).

Barbiturates as a Treatment

Today, barbiturate drugs are no longer generally prescribed by physicians (except as a mild tranquilizer) because of “their adverse reactions and risk of dependence.” However, there are three areas in which barbiturates are still utilized–1), an anesthetic, such as with pentobarbital and methohexital; and 2), as a treatment for epilepsy and related convulsive disorders; and 3), as a treatment for “withdrawal symptoms in neonates of mothers suffering from multiple substance dependence during pregnancy.” As a side note, barbiturates are also used as lethal injections “for executions in the U.S., for physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia” and as a truth serum (“Barbiturates”).

Barbiturates as an Abused Drug

In the past, the abuse of barbiturates drugs was generally confined to the U.S. adult population; however, since the 1970’s, barbiturate abuse has shown up in American high schools across the nation, especially over the last ten years. One major reason for this situation in high schools is that students use barbiturates to counteract the effects of other drugs like amphetamines, heroin, and cocaine. Also, due to the lack of current media coverage on the dangers of abusing barbiturates, young people tend to underestimate the powerful effects of barbiturate drugs and the risks that go along with abuse, such as heart failure and stroke. One other area of concern is young people mixing alcohol with barbiturate drugs in order to “boost the high” associated with alcohol (“Barbiturate Abuse”).

Some of the basic symptoms associated with barbiturate abuse and overdose includes disinhibited emotional responses, signs of physical intoxication as with alcohol, such as staggering and slurred speech patterns, mental confusion and disorientation. At high dosages, barbiturates can cause the user to fall into a coma and stop breathing, thus resulting in death. Also, like so many other abused drugs, if barbiturates are abused on a daily basis for more than a month, “the brain develops a need for the barbiturate which causes severe symptoms if the drug is withheld” (Barbiturate Abuse”). When a user does experience withdrawal from the drug, some of the symptoms may include “tremors, difficulty sleeping, and agitation,” all of which can become exacerbated if the user mixes other drugs which may result in hallucinations, an elevated body temperature, elevated blood pressure, and life-threatening seizures (“Barbiturate Abuse”).

Conclusion

Since barbiturates are a controlled substance under the drug laws of the United States, they can only be prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist and sold by an authorized pharmacy. In the U.S., the unauthorized possession of barbiturates or selling the drug on the streets can result in five or more years in a federal prison and/or a substantial fine. One major area of concern for law enforcement like the DEA is the use of barbiturates by young people as way of counteracting the effects of drugs like amphetamines (i.e., “speed”) and more commonly ecstasy and methamphetamine, a combination with lethal results that has led to the deaths of many young people (and some adults) over the past twenty years (“Barbiturate Abuse”).

Works Cited

“Barbiturates.” European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Web. 2011. Accessed 9 April 2014.

“Barbiturate Abuse.” WebMD. 2014. Web. Accessed 9 April 2014.

“What Are Barbiturates?” 2014. Web. Accessed 9 April 2014.