Barbiturates - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

In the United States, barbiturates are manufactured in various forms. Most barbiturates come in pills and capsules that patients swallow. Some are available as liquids that are swallowed. Others are produced in injectable forms. Some abusers have been known to mix up their own injectable liquid barbiturates by crushing pills and combining the powdered drug with water.

Drugs made from barbituric acid are classified in one of four categories: ultrashort-, short-, intermediate-, or long-acting. These categories are defined by the amount of time that it takes for the barbiturate to produce effects in the user and how long those effects last.

DEA reports indicate that drug abusers favor short- and intermediate-acting barbiturates. These types of barbiturates take effect within fifteen to forty minutes of being swallowed, and their depressant effects last from five to six hours. Drugs in this category include amobarbital, aprobarbital, butabarbital, pentobarbital, and secobarbital.