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Location: United Kingdom
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 Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 12:47 pm Post subject: What are they? |
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Tranquillisers are synthetic drugs that are intended to reduce anxiety and help people to sleep. Benzodiazepines are the most commonly prescribed of these drugs, which include the well known brands such as Valium and Temazepam.
Medicinal uses
Benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. They are also used as sedatives before some surgical and medical procedures and for the treatment of some seizure disorders and alcohol withdrawal.
Because they are considered to be safer and more effective, benzodiazepines have largely replaced barbiturates in the treatment of both anxiety and insomnia.
The first benzodiazepine to be produced was chlordiazepoxide, commonly known as Librium. Diazepam (Valium) was the next to be developed and until the early 1980s this was the most widely prescribed tranquillizer in the world. Now newer benzodiazepines such as Lorazepam (Ativan) account for most tranquillizer prescriptions.
Use and abuse of tranquillisers
Benzodiazepines are the most commonly prescribed drugs in Britain. Twice as many women take them as men and, where they have been prescribed over a long period of time, many patients have become dependent upon them.
The easy availability of tranquillisers has made them common as drugs of abuse. Some drug abusers take tranquillisers to bring them down after using stimulants such as ecstasy or cocaine. Others take them to 'enhance' the effect of alcohol. They are also used as replacement drugs when an addict's drug of first choice - such as heroin - is not available.
Tranquillisers are not generally injected but Temazepam capsules, known as 'jellies' or 'eggs' became a very popular injected drug among addicts in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Because of this they were banned in 1996, although the tablet form is still available.
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