Methaqualone is a drug that has hypnotic and sedative properties. Although
Methaqualone is not considered a barbiturate, using the drug can produce similar
results. Common street names for Methaqualone are Quaalude, Lude, Quay, Quad,
Mandrex and Sopors. Methaqualone can be injected, and also taken orally.
Methaqualone commonly is manufactured in tablets or capsules. The drug can also
be found in brown, gray or black tacky powder. An average dose of Methaqualone
is about 3 grams. This depends on the person’s body height, weight, the use of
any other drug, such as alcohol, and the tolerance built to Methaqualone. Within
4-8 hours of taking Methaqualone, the user may experience slurred speech,
disorientation, lack of coordination, and increased reflex time. Methaqualone is
also commonly used because it causes drunken behavior without the odor of
alcohol. The drug also relieves tension, mental stress and anxiety. The possible
long-term effects of Methaqualone are psychological and physical dependence,
cardiac and respiratory depression, and the reduction of mental activity. The
withdrawal symptoms of Methaqualone are anxiety, insomnia, tremors, convulsions,
and possible death. The effects of Methaqualone when overdosed are
unpredictable, which makes the drug even more dangerous. Overdose by
Methaqualone is also more difficult to treat than most barbiturate overdoses.
These effects range from cold and clammy skin to a possible death. People that
lived through a Methaqualone overdose have also experienced shallow breathing,
dilated pupils, and coma. When introduced in 1965, Methaqualone was legally used
as a sedative-hypnotic. Doctors prescribed Methaqualone to patients who needed
the relief of side effects that were associated with over-stimulation or the
withdrawal of other drugs. By 1972, the abuse of Methaqualone was prevalent
among both teenagers and adults. “Luding out”, or orally ingesting
Methaqualone with liquor became popular with teenagers. This made the abuse of
Methaqualone twice as hazardous because it increased the effect, as well as the
danger. Adults used Methaqualone to reduce anxiety, and as a sleeping aid.
Because Methaqualone was widely abused, in 1984 the drug was made illegal in
many countries, including the United States. Although most of the effects of the
drug are known, Methaqualone is still one of the most widely abused drugs. The
most common dangers from abusing Methaqualone are due to car accidents. Because
Methaqualone causes faulty judgement and drowsiness, it is very easy to injure
or even kill yourself or others in a car accident.

Bibliography
1. Kunz, Jeffery and Finkel, Asher. The American Medical Association Family
Medical Guide. New York: Random House, 1987. 2. Ziemer, Maryann. Quaaludes. San
Diego: Enslow Publishers, Inc., January 1997. 3. http://www.streetdrugs.org.
info@streetdrugs.org. Copyright Publishers Group, 1996. 4. Division of Alcohol
and Drug Abuse. http://www.well.com/user/woa/fsseda.htm