Sedative
Encyclopedia
A sedative or tranquilizer (or tranquilliser, see American and British English spelling differences
) is a substance that induces sedation
by reducing irritability
or excitement
.
At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait
, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflex
es. Doses of sedatives such as benzodiazepines when used as a hypnotic to induce sleep tend to be higher than those used to relieve anxiety whereas only low doses are needed to provide calming sedative effects.
Sedatives can be abused to produce an overly-calming effect (alcohol
being the classic and most common sedating drug). At high doses or when they are abused, many of these drugs can cause unconsciousness
(see hypnotic
) and even death
.
". The terms describe distinct effects, but medications that cause one of these effects often also cause the other.
Advances in pharmacology have permitted more specific targeting of receptors, and greater selectivity of agents, which necessitates greater precision when describing these agents and their effects:
s often administer sedatives to patients in order to dull the patient's anxiety related to painful or anxiety-provoking procedures. Although sedatives do not relieve pain in themselves, they can be a useful adjunct to analgesic
s in preparing patients for surgery
, and are commonly given to patients before they are anaesthetized, or before other highly uncomfortable and invasive procedures like cardiac catheterization
, colonoscopy
or MRI. They increase tractability and compliance of children or troublesome or demanding patients.
Patients in intensive care units are almost always sedated (unless they are unconscious from their condition anyway).
users may take sedatives to calm excessive jitteriness. Others take sedatives recreationally to relax and forget their worries. Barbiturate overdose is a factor in nearly one-third of all reported drug-related deaths. These include suicide
s and accidental drug poisonings. Accidental deaths sometimes occur when a drowsy, confused user repeats doses, or when sedatives are taken with alcohol. In the U.S., in 1998, a total of 70,982 sedative exposures were reported to U.S. poison
control centers, of which 2310 (3.2%) resulted in major toxicity
and 89 (0.1%) resulted in death. About half of all the people admitted to emergency rooms in the U.S. as a result of nonmedical use of sedatives have a legitimate prescription for the drug, but have taken an excessive dose or combined it with alcohol or other drugs.
There are also serious paradoxical reactions that may occur in conjunction with the use of sedatives that lead to unexpected results in some individuals. Malcolm Lader at the Institute of Psychiatry in London estimates the incidence of these adverse reactions at about 5%, even in short-term use of the drugs. The paradoxical reactions may consist of depression
, with or without suicidal tendencies, phobias, aggressiveness, violent behavior and symptoms sometimes misdiagnosed as psychosis
.
function and depresses respiration, the two substances compound each other's actions and this combination can prove fatal.
.
Lorazepam
is one such pharmacological agent that can cause anterograde amnesia
. Intensive care unit
patients who receive higher doses over longer periods of time, typically via IV drip
, are more likely to experience such side effects.
(Rohypnol), and to a lesser extent, temazepam
(Restoril), and midazolam
(Versed) - are well known for their use as date rape
drugs (also called a Mickey
) and being administered to unsuspecting patrons in bars or guests at parties to reduce the intended victims' defenses. These drugs are also used for robbing
people. Statistical overviews suggest that the use of sedative-spiked drinks for robbing people is actually much more common than their use for rape. Cases of criminals taking rohypnol themselves before they commit crimes have also been reported, as the loss of inhibitions from the drug may increase their confidence to commit the offence, and the amnesia
produced by the drug makes it difficult for police to interrogate them if they are caught.
American and British English spelling differences
One of the ways in which American English and British English differ is in spelling.-Historical origins:In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardized. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries...
) is a substance that induces sedation
Sedation
Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure...
by reducing irritability
Irritability
Irritability is an excessive response to stimuli. The term is used for both the physiological reaction to stimuli and for the pathological, abnormal or excessive sensitivity to stimuli; It is usually used to refer to anger or frustration....
or excitement
Psychomotor agitation
Psychomotor agitation is a series of unintentional and purposeless motions that stem from mental tension and anxiety of an individual. This includes pacing around a room, wringing one's hands, pulling off clothing and putting it back on and other similar actions...
.
At higher doses it may result in slurred speech, staggering gait
Gait (human)
Human gait is the way locomotion is achieved using human limbs. Different gaits are characterized by differences in limb movement patterns, overall velocity, forces, kinetic and potential energy cycles, and changes in the contact with the surface .- Foot strike :One variable in different gaits is...
, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflex
Reflex
A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus. A true reflex is a behavior which is mediated via the reflex arc; this does not apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'.-See also:...
es. Doses of sedatives such as benzodiazepines when used as a hypnotic to induce sleep tend to be higher than those used to relieve anxiety whereas only low doses are needed to provide calming sedative effects.
Sedatives can be abused to produce an overly-calming effect (alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
being the classic and most common sedating drug). At high doses or when they are abused, many of these drugs can cause unconsciousness
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
(see hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
) and even death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
.
Terminology
There is some overlap between the terms "sedative" and "hypnoticHypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
". The terms describe distinct effects, but medications that cause one of these effects often also cause the other.
Advances in pharmacology have permitted more specific targeting of receptors, and greater selectivity of agents, which necessitates greater precision when describing these agents and their effects:
- AnxiolyticAnxiolyticAn anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...
refers specifically to the effect upon anxietyAnxietyAnxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
. (However, some benzodiazepines can be all three: sedatives, hypnotics, and anxiolytics). - TranquilizerTranquilizerA tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...
can refer to anxiolytics or antipsychoticAntipsychoticAn antipsychotic is a tranquilizing psychiatric medication primarily used to manage psychosis , particularly in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A first generation of antipsychotics, known as typical antipsychotics, was discovered in the 1950s...
s. - Soporific and sleeping pill are near-synonyms for hypnotics.
Types of sedatives
- BarbiturateBarbiturateBarbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
s- amobarbitalAmobarbitalAmobarbital is a drug that is a barbiturate derivative. It has sedative-hypnotic and analgesic properties. It is a white crystalline powder with no odor and a slightly bitter taste. It was first synthesized in Germany in 1923...
(Amytal) - pentobarbitalPentobarbitalPentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate that was first synthesized in 1928. Pentobarbital is available as both a free acid and a sodium salt, the former of which is only slightly soluble in water and ethanol....
(Nembutal) - secobarbitalSecobarbitalSecobarbital sodium is a barbiturate derivative drug that was first synthesized in 1928 in Germany. It possesses anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, sedative and hypnotic properties...
(Seconal) - phenobarbitalPhenobarbitalPhenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the...
(LuminalLuminalLuminal may refer to:* A trade name for the anti-epileptic drug phenobarbital* Luminal , a 2004 film by Italian director Andrea Vecchiato starring Denis Lavant* In biology, pertaining to the lumen, the interior of a hollow structure...
)
- amobarbital
- BenzodiazepineBenzodiazepineA benzodiazepine is a psychoactive drug whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring...
s (trade names)- clonazepamClonazepamClonazepamis a benzodiazepine drug having anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and hypnotic properties. It is marketed by Roche under the trade name Klonopin in the United States and Rivotril in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Europe...
(KlonopinClonazepamClonazepamis a benzodiazepine drug having anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and hypnotic properties. It is marketed by Roche under the trade name Klonopin in the United States and Rivotril in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Europe...
N.America; Rivotril Europe, Asia ) - diazepamDiazepamDiazepam , first marketed as Valium by Hoffmann-La Roche is a benzodiazepine drug. Diazepam is also marketed in Australia as Antenex. It is commonly used for treating anxiety, insomnia, seizures including status epilepticus, muscle spasms , restless legs syndrome, alcohol withdrawal,...
(Valium) - estazolamEstazolamEstazolam is a benzodiazepine derivative drug developed by Upjohn in the 1970s. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties...
(Prosom) - flunitrazepamFlunitrazepamFlunitrazepam is marketed as a potent hypnotic, sedative, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, amnestic, and skeletal muscle relaxant drug most commonly known as Rohypnol...
(Rohypnol) - lorazepamLorazepamLorazepam is a high-potency short-to-intermediate-acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine drug that has all five intrinsic benzodiazepine effects: anxiolytic, amnesic, sedative/hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antiemetic and muscle relaxant...
(Ativan) - midazolamMidazolamMidazolam is a short-acting drug in the benzodiazepine class developed by Hoffmann-La Roche in the 1970s. The drug is used for treatment of acute seizures, moderate to severe insomnia, and for inducing sedation and amnesia before medical procedures. It possesses profoundly potent anxiolytic,...
(Versed) - nitrazepamNitrazepamNitrazepam is a type of benzodiazepine drug and is marketed in English-speaking countries under the following brand names: Alodorm, Arem, Insoma, Mogadon, Nitrados, Nitrazadon, Ormodon, Paxadorm, Remnos, and Somnite...
(Mogadon) - oxazepamOxazepamOxazepam , is a drug which is a short to intermediate acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine derivative...
(Serax) - triazolamTriazolamTriazolam is a benzodiazepine drug. It possesses pharmacological properties similar to that of other benzodiazepines, but it is generally only used as a sedative to treat severe insomnia...
(Halcion) - temazepamTemazepamTemazepam is an intermediate-acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine. It is mostly prescribed for the short-term treatment of sleeplessness in patients who have difficulty maintaining sleep...
(Restoril, Normison, Planum, Tenox, and Temaze) - chlordiazepoxideChlordiazepoxideChlordiazepoxide, is a sedative/hypnotic drug and benzodiazepine. It is marketed under the trade names Angirex, Klopoxid, Librax , Libritabs, Librium, Mesural, Multum, Novapam, Risolid, Silibrin, Sonimen and Tropium.Chlordiazepoxide was the first benzodiazepine to be synthesised and...
(Librium) - alprazolamAlprazolamAlprazolam is a short-acting anxiolytic of the benzodiazepine class of psychoactive drugs. Alprazolam, like other benzodiazepines, binds to specific sites on the GABAA gamma-amino-butyric acid receptor...
(Xanax)
- clonazepam
- Herbal sedatives
- ashwagandhaAshwagandhaWithania somnifera, also known as Ashwagandha, Indian ginseng, Winter cherry, Ajagandha, Kanaje Hindi, Amukkara , Samm Al Ferakh, is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family....
- Duboisia hopwoodiiDuboisia hopwoodiiDuboisia hopwoodii . is a shrub native to the arid interior region of Australia. Common names include Pituri, Pitchuri thornapple or Pitcheri. It has an erect habit, usually growing to between 1 and 3 metres in height and has long, narrow leaves. Flowers are white and bell-shaped with...
- Prostanthera striatifloraProstantheraProstanthera, commonly known as Mintbush, is a genus of plants of the family Lamiaceae. There are about 90 species within the genus, all of which are endemic to Australia. The word is derived from the Greek, which refers to an appendage...
- catnipNepetaNepeta is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. The members of this group are known as catnip or catmint because of their effect on cats—the nepetalactone contained in nepeta binds to the olfactory receptors of cats, typically resulting in temporary euphoria...
- kavaKavaKava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....
(Piper methysticum) - mandrakeMandrake (plant)Mandrake is the common name for members of the plant genus Mandragora, particularly the species Mandragora officinarum, belonging to the nightshades family...
- valerianValerian (herb)Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....
- cannabisCannabis (drug)Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
- passiflora spp.(passiflora incarnata)
- ashwagandha
- NonbenzodiazepineNonbenzodiazepineThe nonbenzodiazepines, also called benzodiazepine-like drugs, are a class of psychoactive drugs pharmacologically resembling the benzodiazepines, with similar benefits, side effects and risks, despite having dissimilar or entirely different chemical structures.-Classes:There are currently three...
"Z-drugs" sedatives- eszopicloneEszopicloneEszopiclone, marketed by Sepracor under the brand-name Lunesta, is a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic used as a treatment for insomnia. Eszopiclone is the active dextrorotatory stereoisomer of zopiclone, and belongs to the class of drugs known as cyclopyrrolones.Eszopiclone is a short acting...
(Lunesta) - zaleplonZaleplonZaleplon is a sedative/hypnotic, mainly used for insomnia. It is a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic from the pyrazolopyrimidine class. In terms of adverse effects zaleplon appears to offer little improvement compared to both benzodiazepines and other non-benzodiazepine Z-drugs.Sonata is manufactured by...
(SonataZaleplonZaleplon is a sedative/hypnotic, mainly used for insomnia. It is a nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic from the pyrazolopyrimidine class. In terms of adverse effects zaleplon appears to offer little improvement compared to both benzodiazepines and other non-benzodiazepine Z-drugs.Sonata is manufactured by...
) - zolpidemZolpidemZolpidem is a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, as well as some brain disorders. It is a short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic of the imidazopyridine class that potentiates gamma-aminobutyric acid , an inhibitory neurotransmitter, by binding to GABAA...
(Ambien) - zopicloneZopicloneZopiclone is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic agent used in the treatment of insomnia. In the United States, zopiclone is not commercially available, although its active stereoisomer, eszopiclone, is sold under the name Lunesta...
(Imovane, Zimovane)
- eszopiclone
- Antihistamines
- DiphenhydramineDiphenhydramineDiphenhydramine hydrochloride is a first-generation antihistamine possessing anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, and sedative properties which is mainly used to treat allergies. Like most other first-generation antihistamines, the drug also has a powerful hypnotic effect, and for this reason...
- DimenhydrinateDimenhydrinateDimenhydrinate is an over-the-counter drug used to prevent nausea and motion sickness...
- DoxylamineDoxylamineDoxylamine is one of the many sedating antihistamines used by itself as a short-term sedative, and in combination with other drugs as a night-time cold and allergy relief drug...
- PromethazinePromethazinePromethazine is a first-generation antihistamine of the phenothiazine family. The drug has anti-motion sickness, antiemetic, and anticholinergic effects, as well as a strong sedative effect and in some countries is prescribed for insomnia when benzodiazepines are contraindicated...
- Diphenhydramine
- Other
- Chloral HydrateChloral hydrateChloral hydrate is a sedative and hypnotic drug as well as a chemical reagent and precursor. The name chloral hydrate indicates that it is formed from chloral by the addition of one molecule of water. Its chemical formula is C2H3Cl3O2....
- AlcoholAlcoholic beverageAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
(though no longer used medically, it is very popular among the public as a legal intoxicantLegal intoxicantsLegal intoxicants are intoxicating drugs which are not prohibited by drug laws. The most commonly used intoxicant is alcohol but many others are used including native intoxicating plants historically used by indigenous cultures and modern chemical intoxicating substances that have not been defined...
) - trazodoneTrazodoneTrazodone is an antidepressant of the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor class. It is a phenylpiperazine compound...
- Opiates and Opioids
- Chloral Hydrate
Therapeutic use
DoctorPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s often administer sedatives to patients in order to dull the patient's anxiety related to painful or anxiety-provoking procedures. Although sedatives do not relieve pain in themselves, they can be a useful adjunct to analgesic
Analgesic
An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
s in preparing patients for surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, and are commonly given to patients before they are anaesthetized, or before other highly uncomfortable and invasive procedures like cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. This is done for both investigational and interventional purposes...
, colonoscopy
Colonoscopy
Colonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It may provide a visual diagnosis and grants the opportunity for biopsy or removal of suspected...
or MRI. They increase tractability and compliance of children or troublesome or demanding patients.
Patients in intensive care units are almost always sedated (unless they are unconscious from their condition anyway).
Sedative dependence
Some sedatives can cause physiological and psychological dependence when taken regularly over a period of time, even at therapeutic doses. Dependent users may get withdrawal symptoms ranging from restlessness and insomnia to convulsions and death. When users become psychologically dependent, they feel as if they need the drug to function, although physical dependence does not necessarily occur, particularly with a short course of use. In both types of dependences, finding and using the sedative becomes the focus in life. Both physical and psychological dependence can be treated with therapy. (see Sedative Dependence).Misuse
Many sedatives can be misused, but barbiturates and benzodiazepines are responsible for most of the problems with sedative use due to their widespread recreational or non-medical use. People who have difficulty dealing with stress, anxiety or sleeplessness may overuse or become dependent on sedatives. Some heroin users may take them either to supplement their drug or to substitute for it. StimulantStimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
users may take sedatives to calm excessive jitteriness. Others take sedatives recreationally to relax and forget their worries. Barbiturate overdose is a factor in nearly one-third of all reported drug-related deaths. These include suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
s and accidental drug poisonings. Accidental deaths sometimes occur when a drowsy, confused user repeats doses, or when sedatives are taken with alcohol. In the U.S., in 1998, a total of 70,982 sedative exposures were reported to U.S. poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
control centers, of which 2310 (3.2%) resulted in major toxicity
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
and 89 (0.1%) resulted in death. About half of all the people admitted to emergency rooms in the U.S. as a result of nonmedical use of sedatives have a legitimate prescription for the drug, but have taken an excessive dose or combined it with alcohol or other drugs.
There are also serious paradoxical reactions that may occur in conjunction with the use of sedatives that lead to unexpected results in some individuals. Malcolm Lader at the Institute of Psychiatry in London estimates the incidence of these adverse reactions at about 5%, even in short-term use of the drugs. The paradoxical reactions may consist of depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, with or without suicidal tendencies, phobias, aggressiveness, violent behavior and symptoms sometimes misdiagnosed as psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
.
Dangers of combining sedatives and alcohol
Sedatives and alcohol are sometimes combined recreationally or carelessly. Since alcohol is a strong depressant that slows brainBrain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
function and depresses respiration, the two substances compound each other's actions and this combination can prove fatal.
Sedatives and amnesia
Sedation can sometimes leave the patient with long-term or short-term amnesiaAmnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
.
Lorazepam
Lorazepam
Lorazepam is a high-potency short-to-intermediate-acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine drug that has all five intrinsic benzodiazepine effects: anxiolytic, amnesic, sedative/hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antiemetic and muscle relaxant...
is one such pharmacological agent that can cause anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is a loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused the amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. This is in contrast to retrograde amnesia, where memories...
. Intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
patients who receive higher doses over longer periods of time, typically via IV drip
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
, are more likely to experience such side effects.
Sedative drugs and crime
Sedatives - most commonly alcohol but also GHB, FlunitrazepamFlunitrazepam
Flunitrazepam is marketed as a potent hypnotic, sedative, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, amnestic, and skeletal muscle relaxant drug most commonly known as Rohypnol...
(Rohypnol), and to a lesser extent, temazepam
Temazepam
Temazepam is an intermediate-acting 3-hydroxy benzodiazepine. It is mostly prescribed for the short-term treatment of sleeplessness in patients who have difficulty maintaining sleep...
(Restoril), and midazolam
Midazolam
Midazolam is a short-acting drug in the benzodiazepine class developed by Hoffmann-La Roche in the 1970s. The drug is used for treatment of acute seizures, moderate to severe insomnia, and for inducing sedation and amnesia before medical procedures. It possesses profoundly potent anxiolytic,...
(Versed) - are well known for their use as date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
drugs (also called a Mickey
Mickey Finn (drugs)
A Mickey Finn, is a slang term for a drink laced with a drug given to someone without his knowledge in order to incapacitate him...
) and being administered to unsuspecting patrons in bars or guests at parties to reduce the intended victims' defenses. These drugs are also used for robbing
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
people. Statistical overviews suggest that the use of sedative-spiked drinks for robbing people is actually much more common than their use for rape. Cases of criminals taking rohypnol themselves before they commit crimes have also been reported, as the loss of inhibitions from the drug may increase their confidence to commit the offence, and the amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
produced by the drug makes it difficult for police to interrogate them if they are caught.
See also
- HypnoticHypnoticHypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
- Antidepressants
- Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndromeBenzodiazepine withdrawal syndromeBenzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome—often abbreviated to benzo withdrawal—is the cluster of symptoms which appear when a person who has taken benzodiazepines long term and has developed benzodiazepine dependence stops taking benzodiazepine drug or during dosage reductions...
- TranquilizerTranquilizerA tranquilizer, or tranquilliser , is a drug that induces tranquility in an individual.The term "tranquilizer" is imprecise, and is usually qualified, or replaced with more precise terms:...
- Tranquilizer gun
- Karla Bentham
Further reading
- Tone, Andrea. The Age of Anxiety: A History of America's Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers (Basic Books, 2009) 288 pp.; ISBN 978-0-465-08658-0 excerpty and text search