Barbiturates - Consequences

Consequences

Barbiturates are used to treat anxiety, sleeplessness, muscular tension, and pain. Their calming effect has a serious downside, though. Barbiturates lessen the brain's control over breathing. Respiratory failure is the primary cause of death in cases of barbiturate overdose. Gahlinger pointed out that "since barbiturates reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the brain, the overdosing person who survives may be left with permanent brain damage."

Barbiturate users can develop a tolerance for the drug. As the body becomes used to the presence of barbiturates in the system, the prescribed dose of the drug may lose its effectiveness. Habitual users may find themselves taking more and more pills in stronger and stronger dosages to achieve the effect they once attained on a low dosage of the drug. This cycle often leads to accidental overdose.

Prolonged barbiturate use can shorten a person's attention span and result in memory loss. Both conditions would make it difficult for a person to do well in school or perform on a job. In addition, barbiturates affect the judgment of those who use them, increasing the likelihood of risky behavior. Users of barbiturates are sometimes tempted to drive while drunk because they know that police will not smell alcohol on their breath.

Taking barbiturates to ease depression "is probably the riskiest way of using them," cautioned Weil. Although these drugs may improve the user's mood temporarily, "over time they often increase anxiety and depression, encouraging further drug-taking in a downward spiral that can end in suicide."