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February 8, 2012
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Barbiturate Abuse

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Barbiturate Abuse Overview

Barbiturates are a group of drugs in the class of drugs known as sedative-hypnotics, which generally describes their sleep-inducing and anxiety-decreasing effects.

  • History of use and abuse
    • Barbiturates were first used in medicine in the early 1900s and became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as treatment for anxiety, insomnia, or seizure disorders. With the popularity of barbiturates in the medical population, barbiturates as drugs of abuse evolved as well. Barbiturates were abused to reduce anxiety, decrease inhibitions, and treat unwanted effects of illicit drugs. Barbiturates can be extremely dangerous because the correct dose is difficult to predict. Even a slight overdose can cause coma or death. Barbiturates are also addictive and can cause a life-threatening withdrawal syndrome.
    • Barbiturate use and abuse has declined dramatically since the 1970s, mainly because a safer group of sedative-hypnotics called benzodiazepines are being prescribed. Benzodiazepine use has largely replaced barbiturates in the medical profession, with the exception of a few specific indications. Doctors are prescribing barbiturates less, and the illegal use of barbiturates has also substantially declined,although barbiturate abuse among teenagers may be on the rise compared with the early 1990s. Addiction to barbiturates, however, is uncommon today.
  • Types of barbiturates
    • There are many different barbiturates. The primary difference among them is how long their effects last. The effects of some of the long-acting drugs may last up to 2 days. Others are very short acting. Their effects last only a few minutes.
    • Barbiturates can be injected into the veins or muscles, but they are usually taken in pill form. The street names of commonly abused barbiturates describe the desired effect of the drug or the color and markings on the actual pill.

      Barbiturate Names

      Generic Name

      Street Name

      Amobarbital

      Downers, blue heavens, blue velvet, blue devils

      Pentobarbital

      Nembies, yellow jackets, abbots, Mexican yellows

      Phenobarbital

      Purple hearts, goof balls

      Secobarbital

      Reds, red birds, red devils, lilly, F-40s, pinks, pink ladies, seggy

      Tuinal

      Rainbows, reds and blues, tooies, double trouble, gorilla pills, F-66s

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Barbiturate Abuse

Substance Abuse Overview

People abuse substances such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco for varied and complicated reasons, but it is clear that our society pays a significant cost. The toll for this abuse can be seen in our hospitals and emergency departments through direct damage to health by substance abuse and its link to physical trauma. Jails and prisons tally daily the strong connection between crime and drug dependence and abuse. Although use of some drugs such as cocaine has declined, use of other drugs such as heroin and "club drugs" has increased.

  • Finding effective treatment for and prevention of substance abuse has been difficult. Through research, we now have a better understanding of the behavior. Studies have made it clear that drug education and prevention aimed at children and adolescents offers the best chance to curb abuse nationally.

  • The 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimated the number of u...

Read the Substance Abuse article »


Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Toxicity, Barbituate »

Barbiturates are a class of organic compounds that were developed in the late 19th century for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.

Read More on Medscape Reference »

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