 Barbiturates act to depress the central nervous system and are often called sleeping pills. The first barbiturates were made by the Bayer company as early as the 1860s. In 1912 the barbiturate Phenobarbital was first introduced. There are many different types of barbiturates. Some common ones include Pentobarbital, Secobarbital, Amobarbital and Phenobarbital; slang names for these include 'yellow jackets', 'reds', 'blues', 'Amys', and 'rainbows'. Barbiturates have been used as sedatives, although a new group of drugs called 'benzodiazepines' has replaced many barbiturates for such treatments. However, barbiturates are still used to treat some types of epilepsy. Barbiturates have several effects on behavior depending on the dose. - In low doses, they reduce anxiety, respiration, blood pressure and heart rate, producing a state of intoxication very similar to that caused by alcohol. Symptoms include slurred speech, loss of coordination, and impaired judgment. - In higher doses barbiturates can actually act like a stimulant, removing inhibitory behavior. - In massive doses barbiturates can cause coma and even death. Barbiturate overdoses may occur because, as tolerance for the drug increases, the most effective dose becomes closer and closer to a lethal dose. Musician Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 of a barbiturate overdose. The problem with barbiturates is that repeated use results in higher tolerance; the need for higher and higher doses often results in overdosing. For example, if barbiturates are used to help a person get to sleep, over time a greater dose of the drug will be needed to get the person to sleep. Another problem is that the drug often leads to both physical and psychological dependence, when the user becomes dependent on the drug. Withdrawal symptoms (including anxiety, insomnia, nausea, seizures, stomach problems and hallucinations) occur when the person stops its use. Barbiturates in high doses are often used in some countries for physician-assisted suicide, and, in combination with a muscle relaxant, for capital punishment by lethal injection. The barbiturate called sodium pentothal is known as 'truth serum'; it doesn't really cause people to tell the truth, but instead lowers their inhibitions, making them more talkative. |