| BARBITURATES
Historically, people of almost every culture have used
chemical agents to induce sleep, relieve stress, and
allay anxiety. While alcohol is one of the oldest and
most universal agents used for these purposes, hundreds
of substances have been developed that produce central
nervous system (CNS) depression. These drugs have been
referred to as "downers," sedatives, hypnotics,
minor tranquilizers, anxiolytics, and antianxiety medications.
Unlike most other classes of drugs of abuse, depressants,
except for methaqualone, are rarely produced in clandestine
laboratories. Generally, legitimate pharmaceutical products
are diverted to the illicit market.
Although a number of depressants (i.e., chloral hydrate,
glutethimide, meprobamate and methaqualone) have been
important players in the milieu of depressant use and
abuse, two major groups of depressants have dominated
the licit and illicit market for nearly a century, first
barbiturates and now benzodiazepines.
Barbiturates were very popular in the first half of
this century. In moderate amounts, these drugs produce
a state of intoxication that is remarkably similar to
alcohol intoxication. Symptoms include slurred speech,
loss of motor coordination and impaired judgment. Depending
on the dose, frequency, and duration of use, one can
rapidly develop tolerance, physical dependence and psychological
dependence on barbiturates. With the development of
tolerance, the margin of safety between the effective
dose and the lethal dose becomes very narrow. That is,
in order to obtain the same level of intoxication, the
tolerant abuser may raise his or her dose to a level
that can produce coma and death. Although many individuals
have taken barbiturates therapeutically without harm,
concern about the addiction potential of barbiturates
and the ever-increasing numbers of fatalities associated
with them led to the development of alternative medications.
Today, only about 20% of all depressant prescriptions
in the United States are for barbiturates.
[Abstracted from D.E.A. website q.v.]
| BARBITURATES
|
| Effects |
| Marked sedation and reduced anxiety
are the features which create the abusers' market.
Side effects are drowsiness, confusion, inability
to concentrate, incoordination, tremors, slurred
speech, depressed pulse rate, dilated pupils, shallow
breathing. Addiction and tachyphylaxis both occur
over a short time! Long term users REQUIRE HOSPITALIZATION
FOR WITHDRAWL! |
| Incidence
of Abuse |
| Extremely prevalent. These are cheap to manufacture
and easy to find on the street. Popularity is partly
because barbiturate abuse is not terribly expensive! |
| Immunoassay
Screen is a "CLASS ASSAY" and is sensitive
to: |
| Amobarbital, Butalbital, Butabarbital, Pentobarbital,
Phenobarbital, Secobarbital |
| Legal
(Prescription) Uses: |
| Phenobarbital is widely used as an anti-convulsant
to control Epilepsy. Statistics show that the vast
majority of those who test positive are using Phenobarb
by prescription to control seizures. There is also
a huge black market! |
| Forms
and Street Names |
| Barbs" "Downers" and many other
names (often based on the color of the diverted
commercial product.) |
| Preferred
Routes of Administration |
| For the most part, traffic is in
pill form. Many users dissolve and use I.V. |
| Length
of time detechable after use: |
| 2-4 days for those in the testing
system! There are, however, a few longer acting
barbiturates. |
| Confounding
drugs (or factors): |
| None known! |
| Screening
Cut-off: |
| 300 ng/ml |
| Confirmation
GC/MS Cut-off: |
| 300 ng/ml |
| Facts
for Verifying M.R.O |
| Usually straightforward; but savvy abusers will
obtain a prescription to cover the contingency of
"getting caught" on a drug screen. |
|
