Figure 1 Methaqualone
The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
This is a nonbarbiturate, short-acting SEDATIVE-HYPNOTIC drug that has been used to treat insomnia. It was originally introduced in 1951 as a treatment for malaria. In the 1960s and 1970s, it became a popular drug of abuse among college students. Frequently called Quaaludes or "Ludes," the drug, like the shortacting BARBITURATES, produced euphoric effects; some users claimed it had APHRODISIAC effects.
Figure 1 Methaqualone
It is usually taken in pill form, and depending on the dose, the effects last a few hours. The body eliminates about half of the ingested dose in about ten to forty hours, so that even forty-eight hours after ingestion, some drug may still be present. Prolonged use of methaqualone in high doses can lead to TOLERANCE AND PHYSICAL DEPENDENCE, and abrupt cessation of daily ingestion can result in WITHDRAWAL symptoms that are quite similar to those seen in barbiturate withdrawal. Fatal convulsions have resulted from sudden withdrawal. Fatal overdoses can occur when the drug is used alone, but especially when it is mixed with ethanol (ALCOHOL) and/or barbiturates. Because it was so commonly abused in the United States, the drug was shifted to Schedule I of the CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT in the 1980s. Thus, it can no longer be prescribed and its nonmedical use is subject to severe criminal penalties. Although it is rarely used illicitly in the United States, it is still available in other countries and is a drug of abuse in some.
Addiction: Concepts and Definitions)
HARVEY, S. C. (1980). Hypnotics and sedatives. In A. G. Gilman et al. (Eds.), Goodman and Gilman's the pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 6th ed. New York: Macmillan.