The Deadly Downer

According to its manufacturers, methaqualone is a dependable and effective sleeping pill. Blurbs in the standard Physicians' Desk Reference attest to its "sedative and hypnotic" effects and its ability to induce prompt sleep, but warn that the drug may also produce dependency. The warning is appropriate. Though the drug may be safe if it is taken as prescribed by a physician, increasing numbers of Americans--especially on campuses and in ghettos--are obtaining the drug illegally and taking it indiscriminately. Methaqualone is rapidly becoming one of the most popular --and dangerous--drugs of abuse in the U.S. The Government has only recently recognized its dangers and moved toward establishing controls.

On the street and on campus, methaqualone is known by various corruptions of its trade names: "quads" (from Quaalude, made by William H. Rorer Inc.), "French Quaalude" (from mispronunciation of Parest, the Parke, Davis & Co. brand name), and as "soap-ers" (from Sopor, made by Arnar-Stone Laboratories Inc.). It was so popular among the young people who camped out at last year's political conventions that Miami Beach's Flamingo Park was dubbed "Quaalude Alley." Its abuse is now a major problem at many colleges and high schools. It is currently favored by the addict community in the New York City borough of The Bronx, and is so fashionable among some drug culturists that bowls of it have replaced peanuts as a cocktail-party staple.

Users--who are mostly youngsters --are rhapsodic about the euphoric, spaced-out state the drug can produce. Many, calling methaqualone "heroin for lovers," also believe that it is an aphrodisiac. They are mistaken. As a "downer," or depressant, the drug may release the user from his normal sexual restraints. But it is also likely to make a male incapable of normal sexual performance. As one Vassar man puts it, "All your inhibitions are definitely broken down--like everything else in your body."

The drug's effects on the body can, in fact, be deadly. Most doctors prescribe methaqualone in capsules of 150 mg. to 300 mg., one of which should be enough to put the average adult to sleep. But drug abusers are not content with such tame dosages. Their usual pattern is to take two or more, and then wash them down with a few pints of beer.

The combination can be catastrophic. Methaqualone and alcohol are synergistic: one multiplies the effects of the other. Taken together, they can depress the respiratory center and stop breathing; they may also slow the reflexes in the back of the throat, so that if a user vomits (which may happen after a large dose of methaqualone), he can choke and die.

No Controls. On top of this, methaqualone is addictive. Unlike insomniacs who abide by their doctor's prescriptions, abusers develop a tolerance for the drug and begin taking increasingly larger doses. Then they may become addicted. "Resistance can develop after only four days," says Mike, a 20-year-old San Franciscan. "Then it takes four to do what one used to do for you. The withdrawals are much worse than heroin, with the same kind of convulsion as in an epileptic fit."

Despite these dangers, however, controls over methaqualone are virtually nonexistent. Federal authorities have been considering regulations for methaqualone for the past few months, but have not yet proposed any controls on production or sales. The individual states have also been slow in acting. In New York, methaqualone is classed as a dangerous drug; that means that pharmacists cannot refill the prescription without written authorization from a doctor. Connecticut and Maryland are considering controls. But in the rest of the country, the drug and its dangers are unrestricted.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.