Gabapentinoids Megathread Retro Sedatives

[red22]

"The Manufacturers started to slowly pull away from Barbiturates in the late 70's and throught the 80's. By the 90's there were werent many left with Seconal being one of the last ones to be discontinued."

"Prices for Seconal SKYROCKETED in the 2010's to over $1000 for 30 tabs." One_Pollution_4569, 2023-06-11, h‍ttps://old.reddit.com/r/ObscureDrugs/comments/11bwarz/tybamate_solacen_a_rare_meprobamate_prodrug_with/jnqsgfw/


"Phenobarbital is the worst example of a barbiturate if you're trying to get recreational effects out of it. When people talk about barbiturate abuse they are almost always referring to the barbs that used to be sold as fast acting sedatives/anxiolytics like amobarbital and secobarbital (Amytal, Seconal, Nembutal, Tuinal, etc). Those are quite a bit more powerful than benzodiazepines for sure." @sekio, 2018-07-26, https://www.bluelight.org/community/posts/14378010


"But not as much brain fog with barbiturates on an average dose."

"Not as much amnesia as a benzo." [Quaaludes]

@JackARoe, 2026-02-08, Been gifted a authentic and wedinos tested Quualude from 1970s. What dose? [response]


"Barbiturates were superior to the weak,mind numbing ineffective zombifyimg poison of today..making Big Pharma stinking rich.." @annabelladebonnay8320, 2026-02-12, Why Doctors Stopped Prescribing Barbiturates. @darkscienceyt. 2026-02-11. YouTube


(Secobarbital) - First Time - Secobarbital is Gods Drug!


"Secobarbital is the most addictive substance I have ever ingested." ASB. "Modern Barbiturate Abuse". 2018-05-08. Erowid Experience Vaults. exp111872

I think I've heard that they're comparable to Soma. Soma is a prodrug for meprobomate and they have actually combined meprobomate with phenobarbital at the molecular level to make febarbamate.

I've done butalbital, sodium barbital, and secobarbital. All 3 produce decent euphoria and sedation, plus that slight tendency toward irresponsible behavior and redosing like I've noticed with soma. So yes, very comparable,

"More than a medical phenomenon, the little white pill shaped an era. For millions of Americans, Miltown was a new and seemingly harmless drug to be experienced, experimented with, and enjoyed. Miltown inspired new beverages and jewelry. It was discussed and joked about in magazines, on radio, on Broadway, and on television. Salvador Dali paid artistic tribute to Miltown’s capacity to rid the mind of troubling distractions and free it for genius; Aldous Huxley proclaimed that Miltown would inaugurate an era of great fun. So far-reaching was its cultural import, so seamless was its integration into America’s social and linguistic fabric, that by the late 1950s Miltown needed no explicit explanation. The word had become shorthand for a cultural phenomenon people intuitively understood."

The Age of Anxiety: A History of America's Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers. Andrea Tone. 2008. Chapter 2. The Making of Miltown


"I personally find it quite euphoric. Way more so than benzos. I think the American ones even rival opiates but that’s just me" [carisoprodol] @PenguinWithNapalm, 2026-03-26, https://www.bluelight.org/community...oma-thoughts-experiences.892993/post-16406117




GHB: The Natural Mood Enhancer. Ward Dean, Samantha Miller, John Morgenthaler, Steven Wm. Fowkes. 1998


"I tried clomethiazole (named Distraneurin in Switzerland, Heminevrin in the UK) several times recently as a hypnotic medication. It is remarkably efficient and recreational too. To me 1 capsule of 192 mg clomethiazole is roughly equivalent in potency to 10 mg diazepam (Valium). The effect of clomethiazole is quite shorter than that of Valium but not too much shorter." @Octave77, 2025-10-24, https://www.bluelight.org/community/posts/16337744


Confidential file. Barbiturates (1955)
A filmed sequence dramatizes the problems addressed in the program: the story of a working mother addicted to barbiturates initially prescribed by her doctor.



Why Doctors Stopped Prescribing Barbiturates. @darkscienceyt. 2026-02-11. YouTube




This thread contains two AI documentaries about Quaaludes and one about barbiturates:

https://www.bluelight.org/community/posts/16354353

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

but GHB is not a barbiturate either. I thought quaaludes were! Learn somethin everyday

 

[KurtAurelius]

Some of these old drugs are just crazy to me lol,

I was so bad on the RC benzos back in 2016-18.. I’d be dead if I was taking barbs etc

GHB is its own thing imo, and the least addictive I’ve found. I am so angry I can’t have it as a replacement to alcohol easily. Can’t be fucked with the darknet etc. it’s still wildly addictive but so much less toxic than alcohol.

 

[red22]

GHB is its own thing imo, and the least addictive I’ve found. I am so angry I can’t have it as a replacement to alcohol easily. Can’t be fucked with the darknet etc. it’s still wildly addictive but so much less toxic than alcohol.

Meth is easy to synthesize because pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are sold over-the-counter. GHB is easy to synthesize because GABA is sold over-the-counter:

Well, it's possible to turn GABA into GHB, with a very simple method. Heating an amine with nitrous acid (generated with potassium nitrite and hydrochloric acid) turns the NH2 into an OH group, so gamma amino butyric acid (available from lots of places) gets turned into gamma hydroxybutyric acid. Can't remember if it has a specific name though...

 

[red22]

"Phenobarbital is the worst example of a barbiturate if you're trying to get recreational effects out of it. When people talk about barbiturate abuse they are almost always referring to the barbs that used to be sold as fast acting sedatives/anxiolytics like amobarbital and secobarbital (Amytal, Seconal, Nembutal, Tuinal, etc). Those are quite a bit more powerful than benzodiazepines for sure." @sekio, 2018-07-26, https://www.bluelight.org/community/posts/14378010

"I took phenobarbital a long time ago and it just brought the sleepies, no euphoria or numbness, but I was wondering about what Seconal/Amytal/Tuinal felt like."

AnonymousPapSmear, 2019-03-07, h‍ttps://www.reddit.com/r/opiates/comments/ayg5it/not_opiate_related_but_did_anyone_ever_use/

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

Some of these old drugs are just crazy to me lol,

I was so bad on the RC benzos back in 2016-18.. I’d be dead if I was taking barbs etc

GHB is its own thing imo, and the least addictive I’ve found. I am so angry I can’t have it as a replacement to alcohol easily. Can’t be fucked with the darknet etc. it’s still wildly addictive but so much less toxic than alcohol.

You sure it is less toxic long term? That ish is a plastic precursor; therefor they can't really get it off the market and it will always be around in large supplies somewhere...

GBL at least -- which totally a more suitable route than alcohol if less toxic IMO/E/research -- I always feared prolonged use would lead to unknown effects personally.....

 

[KurtAurelius]

You sure it is less toxic long term? That ish is a plastic precursor; therefor they can't really get it off the market and it will always be around in large supplies somewhere...

GBL at least -- which totally a more suitable route than alcohol if less toxic IMO/E/research -- I always feared prolonged use would lead to unknown effects personally.....

I can’t be sure dude tbf no.

But I reckon sodium oxybate medical grade must be okay, some narcoleptics are basically on it for life..

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

^Aye --- can you turn GBL into GHB? (I thought you could but im no chemist). That can just be a yes or no since synth discussion isnt allowed I suppose. ( I'll use the force/google)

I have heard some nasty anecdtodal reports about 1.4/GBL --- GHB moreso only with withdrawal problems

ps - laughing with you / at me ... as yea 1.4/GBL seems to be a ??.... I have used it a couple months straight on a couple occasions with no ill effects than figured I best be safe and discontinue

 

[KurtAurelius]

^Aye --- can you turn GBL into GHB? (I thought you could but im no chemist). That can just be a yes or no since synth discussion isnt allowed I suppose. ( I'll use the force/google)

I have heard some nasty anecdtodal reports about 1.4/GBL --- GHB moreso only with withdrawal problems

Any of the GHB analogues I’ve heard some harsher stuff, the GHB addiction can be bad but you have to kind of do it to yourself, it’s got such a short half life so if your dosing all day long that’s kinda on you ya know?

GBL is a prodrug to GHB is all I know

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

Got ya -- that is about as far as I got too. The rest there is no point asking when the google exists I suppose

 

[KurtAurelius]

Got ya -- that is about as far as I got too. The rest there is no point asking when the google exists I suppose

Yeah sorry man I’d tell you dude if I know,
maybe have a look on brave as it brings me far more drug resource than google.

Google is a shit pit these days

 

[red22]

"By far the most euphoric downer I've tried was methaqualone, with clomethiazole a close second." @haribo1, 2008-01-29, https://www.bluelight.org/community/threads/1-ethynylcyclohexanol-cns-depressant.283141/post-5688797

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

Methaqualone belongs to the quinazolinone family. I dont THINK i have any experience there-- interesting. verry interesting

 

[red22]

Miltown: a game-changing drug you've probably never heard of. 2017-08-07. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ondrugs/mi...drug-you-ve-probably-never-heard-of-1.4237946

Happy pills in America: From Miltown to Prozac. Kocsis, J. H. 2009. J Clin Invest, 119(7), 1744. 10.1172/JCI39766

Blockbusters and controlled substances: Miltown, Quaalude, and consumer demand for drugs in postwar America. Herzberg, David. 2011. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 42(4), 415–426. 10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.05.005


The Complete History of Miltown: 1950s Housewife Tranquilizer Before Valium. @sedated-history. 2026-02-24. h‍ttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UgkaTsOw33I

Before Valium dominated medicine cabinets, there was Miltown, the tranquilizer that reshaped 1950s America. Marketed as a breakthrough treatment for anxiety and “nervous tension,” it quickly became one of the first blockbuster prescription drugs in U.S. history.
Introduced in 1955 under the generic name meprobamate, Miltown was hailed as a safer alternative to barbiturates. Doctors prescribed it widely to middle-class patients, especially women coping with postwar domestic pressures. Pharmaceutical advertising promoted calm, composure, and emotional stability as medical necessities. Within a few years, millions of prescriptions were written annually, and the drug became a cultural symbol of suburban stress. But dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and misuse soon raised alarms, foreshadowing the later rise of benzodiazepines like Valium.

 

[red22]

Central to the documentary is the depiction of narcosynthesis, a technique involving the intravenous injection of sodium amytal to induce a hypnotic state. This process was believed to help patients access and process repressed traumatic memories. In one powerful scene, a soldier unable to walk due to psychological factors receives a sodium amytal injection and is subsequently cured of his affliction.

https://www.psychedelicarchive.com/archive/lettherebelight

 

[deputyentire]

Central to the documentary is the depiction of narcosynthesis, a technique involving the intravenous injection of sodium amytal to induce a hypnotic state. This process was believed to help patients access and process repressed traumatic memories. In one powerful scene, a soldier unable to walk due to psychological factors receives a sodium amytal injection and is subsequently cured of his affliction.

https://www.psychedelicarchive.com/archive/lettherebelight geometry dash

Patients were thought to be able to access and process suppressed painful memories through this technique. In one striking scenario, a soldier who is psychologically incapable of walking is given an injection of sodium amytal, which cures him of his condition.

 

[General alcazar]

I was lucky enough to taste Seconal and pentobarbital in the early 1980s. They were as advertised, amazing and very sbusable. I did not have access for very long though. I was also always wired on meth during that time, which probably blunted the effect.
If I recall, soma is a prodrug for Miltown. Soma was very helpful when I had an intervertebral disc herniation, but in no way did it have the effect that fast acting barbituates have. It’s a good thing I only tried pentobarbital and Seconal a few times. Probably would have overdosed and died otherwise.

 

[chippermonk]

I was lucky enough to taste Seconal and pentobarbital in the early 1980s. They were as advertised, amazing and very sbusable. I did not have access for very long though. I was also always wired on meth during that time, which probably blunted the effect.
If I recall, soma is a prodrug for Miltown. Soma was very helpful when I had an intervertebral disc herniation, but in no way did it have the effect that fast acting barbituates have. It’s a good thing I only tried pentobarbital and Seconal a few times. Probably would have overdosed and died otherwise.

I did overdose on reds. Well, dunno, I took 4 and maybe I would have survived but I passed out at school and they took me to the hospital and pumped my stomach. They told me I would have died but maybe that was bullshit. I still have one red from the early 80s, along with my 4 quaaludes. Also a couple Doridens. All this talk almost makes me think I ought to try one or the other, but I long ago decided I didn't like downers, including benzos. I'd trade them all for some old school Black Beauties. Personal taste, I guess.
I don't think I ever tried pentobarbital or Miltowns or Soma.
Actually, this might sound gross but I had a can of ether once back then and liked it quite bit. Got laid the first time sniffing it. It was a pretty euphoric downer.

 

[red22]

"Ps: g hole (not to crazy/deepest one) actually sends you into the deepest sleep stages for like maybe 4 to 5 hours and can repair the damages caused by sleep deprivation in just a few hours. At some part of my life, I regularly used GHB to actually put myself to sleep because nothing else worked. In Europe rohypnol is not available in every country so when everything else failed, I turned to super clean G and well it worked wonders. I wasn’t using multiple vials obviously but just enough to lose consciousness and put me into that state of “coma” she [mentions]"
"But I was monitored, and I never had any respiratory failure or complications,I consider it more like a very, very deep deep sleep that I agree no one and nothing could wake you from apart from your body making its own work to digest the substance and suppressing it from your system. GHB is actually not that bad of a drug if used correctly. It can save you from weeks of being awake often leading you to some kind of psychosis or other delirium."
"However, I am not a doctor so what my personal experience can be biased of course but just google GHB it’s naturally produced in your body in lower doses and being known mostly for its rape properties makes me so angry because in some cases it saves you from turning literally crazy"  louditoui  2026-03-07  h‍ttps://www.instagram.com/theaddictsdoc/p/DVbugFEEQ0L

 

[General alcazar]

GHB is a miracle drug for insomniacs. Gave me a decade of deep, restful sleep. I’ve never found anything like it since I ran out. Of all the drugs available, GHB is the one I miss the most. when it ran out, I used a gallon of 1,4 butanediol until it ran out. I stopped after that, and did not have any withdrawals. I just couldn’t sleep anymore, like before I discovered it. Fucking rapists ruined it for everyone…