Methaqualone abuse

The addictive quality and the speed with which tolerance to the drug developed was becoming apparent, and in the 1970s medical literature issued frequent reports of methaqualone abuse, dependence, and withdrawal. Hospital admissions and fatalities related to methaqualone grew exponentially. In 1982, there were a reported 2,764 emergency room visits attributed to Quaalude use. 

DAWN) of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Counterfeit Quaaludes sold on the street often contain sedatives other than methaqualone. However, methaqualone abuse and trafficking in South Africa is widespread. 

Peripheral neuropathy, or damage to the nerves of the extremities (hands and feet) is also associated with methaqualone abuse. Typically this disorder, which is characterized by numbness in the hands and feet, reverses itself after abuse has stopped, but it has been reported to last up to five months in some long-term methaqualone abusers. 

As with any highly addictive drug, methaqualone abusers become preoccupied with when and where they will be able to get their next dose. Interpersonal relationships with family and friends frequently deteriorate as drug use dominates the addict s life. Personal finances may also suffer as the drug user funnels more money towards his or her habit or becomes unemployed due to poor job performance resulting from drug impairment. 

Tolerance and physical dependence may develop in persons who chronically use methaqualone. Abrupt discontinuation of chronic methaqualone abuse may result in a withdrawal syndrome consisting of anxiety, agitation, insomnia, tremors, headache, myalgias, nausea, vomiting, diaphoresis, and hyperpyrexia. 

Methaqualone is being widely abused by youths in this country. Recently, in the northeast, some abusers were stricken with severe side effects, including bloody urine and gastrointestinal cramps. The tablets were found to be of clandestine manufacture.They contained fairly large amounts of impurities from a poor synthesis. The impurities were o-toluidine, o-aminobenzoic acid, and o-methyl acetanilide—again proving the old proverb Let the buyer beware. ... 

One of the first quinazolone-based drugs, the sedative hypnotic methaqualone (83-4), gained considerable notoriety as a drug of abuse under the alias ludes after the original tradename Quaalude. The compound is prepared in a straightforward fashion by fusion of anthranilamide (83-1) with orf/zo-toluidine (83-2) [93] the reaction can be envisaged as proceeding via the di-amide (83-3). 

Quaalude (methaqualone) A prescription sedative and sleep aid that was removed from the legal market in the early 1980s because of widespread abuse. 

Today, methaqualone use has dropped dramatically in the United States, and just a handful of cases are reported annually to the Drug Abuse Warning Network... 

Methaqualone use and abuse in the United States dropped significantly after its reclassification to an illicit Schedule I drug. Fatalities and injuries related to the drug s use have also declined accordingly. According to the National Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee, annual U.S. emergency room visits related to methaqualone fell from 2,764 in 1982 to just 163 in 1988. 

When methaqualone was legal in the United States, its status as a prescription drug meant its abuse could and cross lines of race, culture, and class status. 

Once detoxification is complete, the drug abuser can start the rehabilitation and long-term recovery process with a clear head. Research shows that detoxification alone is not an effective treatment, and addicts who leave rehab immediately after detox with no further counseling or interventions soon abuse methaqualone or another mind-altering substance again. 

As an illegal, controlled substance, abuse of methaqualone can have serious social consequences for the user. Convictions carry heavy fines and possible jail time. Depending on the state, a conviction may also result in the suspension of the user s drivers license, and his or her constitutional right to vote may be revoked. 

Despite the reclassification of methaqualone to Schedule II, the use and abuse of the drug soared throughout the 70s and early 80s. Legitimate use for the drug rapidly decreased with the new classification. By 1982, Lemmon Company, the only remaining U.S. manufacturer of the drug, reported that prescriptions written for Quaaludes had dropped from a high of four million in 1973 to less than 300,000, a decline of over 90%. 

By 1972, luding out —taking methaqualone with wine—was popular on college campuses. Excessive use of the drug leads to tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms similar to those of barbiturates. Overdose by methaqualone is more difficult to treat than barbiturate overdose, and deaths have frequently occurred. In the United States, the marketing of methaqualone pharmaceutical products was discontinued in 1984, and the drug became a Schedule I controlled substance. However, some level of occasional abuse has continued. 

Although some sedative-hypnotics such as the nonbarbiturates glutethimide (Doriden) and methaqualone (Quaalude) were once legally prescribed drugs, these substances were banned from use in the United States because of their potential for addiction and abuse. Some sedative-hypnotics such as flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) are illegal in the United States but are legal in Europe and Latin America. 

Wernly and Thormann (1991) used a phosphate-borate buffer pH 9.1 with 75 mM SDS for the qualitative determination in urine of many drugs of abuse (and their metabolites), including benzoylecgonine, morphine, heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine, methamphetamine, codeine, amphetamine, cocaine methadone, methaqualone, and benzodiazepines. 

Toxicity. The estimated minimum lethal dose is 5 g in non-tolerant subjects. Drug accumulation is likely in chronic dosing because of the long half-life. Toxic effects may be associated with plasma concentrations greater than 2 pg/ml, and plasma concentrations greater than about 8 pg/ml are likely to produce coma and may be lethal. The 2 -hydroxymethyl metabolite, which has been found unconjugated in both blood and urine in overdose cases, may contribute to the degree of intoxication. Abuse of methaqualone, particularly when taken in conjunction with diphenhydramine, has been reported. 

The problems of abuse with methaqualone and other nonbarbiturate sedatives far outweigh their medical benefits, and currently these drugs are rarely used for the management of sleep problems or anxiety. In fact, methaqualone has become a Schedule 1 drug and is no longer produced for medical use. A major reason these drugs and the barbiturates have lost favor is the widespread acceptance of the benzodiazepines as the treatment of choice in these disorders. 

Historically, methaqualone was used as a hypnotic for the treatment of insomnia. However, it is less effective than the benzodiazepines for this indication. It also has anticonvulsant, antitussive, and weak antihistaminic properties. It no longer has clinical therapeutic value and is not manufactured in the United States for legitimate pharmaceutical purposes. It is manufactured by clandestine laboratories for drug abuse purposes. 

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