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What pills were common in the 60s, 70s and 80s?

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klinklonfoonyak

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Sep 8, 2009
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like many people on here i like to read things about how the different drug scenes of the past worked. the evolution of everything about pot, or the cocaine trade etc. it's always interested me what drugs people where doing during things like in san Francisco and the build up of the psychedelic movement how marijuana and psychedelics became prominent then things like speed and heroin slowly creeped in.

anyway when reading about these times, people often just say they took 'pills', this often bothered me and i decided to make a thread to find out which sort of drugs were taken in pill form then.

as i understand some acid used to come diluted in capsules, i don't know if pill presses were used.

pcp would come like that as well

when someone refers to downers, do they just mean barbiturates and thorazine? i know things like valium came into use in the eighties but that's always interested me.

and for uppers, was it things like ephedrine, caffeine and amphetamines? i'm curious when things like ritalin began to be abused.

any opinions and comments are welcome thanks!
 
did a little reading and i thought i'd add a few extras

darvocet-Darvocet contains a combination of propoxyphene and acetaminophen.
DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Propoxyphene is a narcotic pain-reliever and cough suppressant but is weaker than morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone. The precise mechanism of action is not known but may involve stimulation of opioid (narcotic) receptors in the brain. Propoxyphene increases pain tolerance and decreases discomfort but the presence of pain still is apparent. In addition to pain reduction, propoxyphene also causes sedation and respiratory depression. The FDA approved propoxyphene in August 1957


Quaaludes- Methaqualone, (brand name Quaaludes /ˈkweɪluːdz/ kway-lewdz) is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan.[1] Its use peaked in the early 1970s as a hypnotic, for the treatment of insomnia, and as a sedative and muscle relaxant. It has also been used illegally as a recreational drug. Since at least 2001, it has been widely used in South Africa,[2] where it is commonly referred to as "smarties" or "geluk-tablette" (meaning happy tablets). Clandestinely produced methaqualone is still seized by government agencies and police forces around the world.
Methaqualone was first synthesized in India in 1951 by Indra Kishore Kacker and Syed Hussain Zaheer,[3][4] and was soon introduced to Japanese and European consumers as a safe barbiturate substitute.[citation needed] By 1965 it was the most commonly prescribed sedative in Britain, where it has been sold legally under the names Malsed, Malsedin, and Renoval. In 1965 a Methaqualone/antihistamine combination was sold as the sedative drug Mandrax, by Roussel Laboratories (now part of Sanofi-Aventis). At about the same time, it was becoming a popular recreational drug (called "mandies" or "mandrake" or "mandrix"). In 1972 it was the sixth-bestselling sedative in the USA,[5] where it was legal under the brand name Quaalude; use by college students was popular at that time.

chloral hydrate- Chloral hydrate was first synthesized by Justus von Liebig in 1832. Liebig also invented the Liebig condenser and has a University named after him in Giessen, Germany. He accomplished the synthesis by chlorination of ethanol in an acidic medium followed by hydration of chloral (trichloroacetaldehyde). Its chemical formula is C2H3Cl3O2.[1]. Its sedative properties were first published in 1869,[2]. It is still on the market, however it has largely been replaced by barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and the Z-drugs (zapeplon, Sonata), (zolpidem, Ambien), (zopliclone, Immovane), and (eszopliclone, Lunesta.)

Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=Chloral_Hydrate#ixzz2EKFSMrZB
 
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Pentazocine (t's and blues), Seconal( called the famous Red Devils),Ethchlorvynol (sold as Placidyl), Sodium Amytal, Tuinal (a combo of two or 3 barbituates i think), Dexidrine spansules,
And ive mentioned before the two legendary opiates: Palfium and Dipipanone (mixed with Cyclizine it was sold as Diconal)
thats all i can think of but a search of the net can get you more. I'm taking what i've read in books like Valley Of The Dolls, Hells Angels, American Gangster, Requim For A Dream etc
 
klinklonfoonyak said:
did a little reading and i thought i'd add a few extras

darvocet-Darvocet contains a combination of propoxyphene and acetaminophen.
DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Propoxyphene is a narcotic pain-reliever and cough suppressant but is weaker than morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone. The precise mechanism of action is not known but may involve stimulation of opioid (narcotic) receptors in the brain. Propoxyphene increases pain tolerance and decreases discomfort but the presence of pain still is apparent. In addition to pain reduction, propoxyphene also causes sedation and respiratory depression. The FDA approved propoxyphene in August 1957


Quaaludes- Methaqualone, (brand name Quaaludes /ˈkweɪluːdz/ kway-lewdz) is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan.[1] Its use peaked in the early 1970s as a hypnotic, for the treatment of insomnia, and as a sedative and muscle relaxant. It has also been used illegally as a recreational drug. Since at least 2001, it has been widely used in South Africa,[2] where it is commonly referred to as "smarties" or "geluk-tablette" (meaning happy tablets). Clandestinely produced methaqualone is still seized by government agencies and police forces around the world.
Methaqualone was first synthesized in India in 1951 by Indra Kishore Kacker and Syed Hussain Zaheer,[3][4] and was soon introduced to Japanese and European consumers as a safe barbiturate substitute.[citation needed] By 1965 it was the most commonly prescribed sedative in Britain, where it has been sold legally under the names Malsed, Malsedin, and Renoval. In 1965 a Methaqualone/antihistamine combination was sold as the sedative drug Mandrax, by Roussel Laboratories (now part of Sanofi-Aventis). At about the same time, it was becoming a popular recreational drug (called "mandies" or "mandrake" or "mandrix"). In 1972 it was the sixth-bestselling sedative in the USA,[5] where it was legal under the brand name Quaalude; use by college students was popular at that time.

]
Click to expand...

darvocet only very recently was taken off the market.... for reasons that are questionable at best

i have always been curious about quaaludes i have heard people talk about them ... what hapenned to them?
i also find it interesting that most young drug users of today have no idea what barbiturates are.... they are in the migraine medicine i use (use not abuse)
not really sure what the recreational effects would be
 
they were taken off the market due to rampant abuse and the fact that it became a extremely common drug prescription with tons of dirty doctors writing scripts, there was something like 4 million prescriptions for it at its height. so the dea ranked it behind only marijuana in terms of abused drugs and said something like 80-90% of it's use was illicit. they were also highly sensationalized in deaths and rapes since could render you pretty comatose and placed in a lower scheduled catergory so it was less commonly prescribed.

i don't know if it's true but i've been told that it was not very safe and alot of people died from combining it with other downers/ booze

and a new combination i found out about called

'doors and 4's' it was doriden and codeine. the doriden potentiates the codeine enough to the point it was a very strong mixture
 
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im interested in this too

what about the barbiturate/amphetamine combinations that were used for depression in the 70's/60's?

opiates were used in psychiatry until the 1960's, and amphetamines (alone) regularly for depression until the 70's
 
Yes the combinations that were common back then seem so stupid by today's standards, like washing down some reds or yellows with a few swigs of beer.
 
^ its taken with codeine because its a cyp2d inhibitor therefore allowing more codeine to metabolize to morphine.
 
Forgive me for broadening my response from pills to drugs.%)
From 1974-1978 in Southern California, the group of friends I was with most of the time would say weed. Especially Colombian or Thai Sticks.

Our second most popular drug was LSD, which was a sugar cube about 80% of the time and blotter the rest.

I saw reds, and took them once, but didn't enjoy myself. Barbiturates weren't a good drug in my opinion. Also, reds were perceived to be part of the active cholo scene one town west. We saw them in their lowriders cruising the boulevard, eyelids barely open. They were morose motherfuckers. There were other downers out there but we weren't into downers. I can't tell you what they were because they were sold as "downers" literally. Phenobarb maybe. :|

A side note: Cruising the Boulevard was what we called how we spent Saturday nights in my hometown. We drove to one well-known boulevard that went through our area. The cops blocked all the turning lanes on the boulevard on Saturday nights so once we began to head from West to East on the boulevard we had to stay that way all the way to where the police were no longer blocking, then we would turn around and cruise back through the boulevard to the end we started from. We had to go slow because it was a traffic jam. One we created ourselves on purpose. We rode around and around, talking to people from neighboring districts that also cruised. There were lots of drugs used, bought and sold during cruising, and lots of flirting./sidenote

We all liked Quaaludes because of the enjoyable high, especially with a glass of wine.

I ate Whites several times. It was some kind of speed. They were cheap but nothing like Cocaine, which we all loved and used often. My mom had something called Black Beauties that were great stimulants with a vibrant love aspect to them, for me anyway.

My own personal use depended on what scripts my mom had at the time. I used Elavil, Talwin, Meprobamate, Valium, and old school tranqs whose names I've forgotten now.
 
I know Quaaludes were big...and psychedelics obviously.
 
BurroughsTheCat said:
Pentazocine (t's and blues), Seconal( called the famous Red Devils),Ethchlorvynol (sold as Placidyl), Sodium Amytal, Tuinal (a combo of two or 3 barbituates i think), Dexidrine spansules,
And ive mentioned before the two legendary opiates: Palfium and Dipipanone (mixed with Cyclizine it was sold as Diconal)
Click to expand...
Valiums were way popular before xanax came into the picture. Phenobarbitol along with all the others mentioned above

Most popular were Qualudes also called Mandrax, and then they came out with the fake ones. Talwin were big too. And the real black mollies were the shit. Darvon was a great pain killer and then it was changed to darvocet, a shit drug.
 
the better question is what pills weren't common.

They had Ludes, Tuinals, Nembutals, Black Beauties, Dexamyl(dexamp+amobarital), Desbutal(Methamp+secobarbital), Obetrol, Gluthemide, Placidyl, Ts&blues, 4s&doors, White
Crosses, Halcions, Demoral, Dilaudids. I mean they had IT ALL! Some are rarely used today and
a lot of the others were simply taken off the market. There's seriously 100s of different pills that were common in these decades.
 
well there are some old school BLers here who could weigh in. But if your that interested in them then google is your friend.
 
Anecdotal info and the little "short stories" people write about their early drug use is interesting to me too though. For example I understand amphetamine pills were common. I didn't know however that there was a pill that had both amphetamines and barbs in one pill.
 
i feel ya brother. The stories are always good that go along with drug use. My dad always said when I asked him how Quaaludes were, that you always knew when a dealer in town or somebody brought in a boatload of ludes was that you'd see cars in ditches, over curbs, hitting stop signs lol. Sounds like GHB or a huge benzo dose to me. I think there's a thread about this particular subject somewhere on here.
 
I think what really got people was that it took a ridiculously long time and a lot of deaths before people realized maybe I shouldn't mix alcohol with my sleeping pills, painkillers, barbiturates or benzos. That's another interesting thing to me is how a lot of unhealthy drug combos were common.

I get taking something to potentiate a opiate buzz but it seems a lot of people didn't understand the dangers of a combo like speed and booze. If you do too much speed you drink a lot to calm down and then get very intoxicated once the speed wears off and bad times ensue. Especially once you start adding dangerous downer's like barbiturates or choral hydrate.
 
Pentazocine was common back then indeed as someone already mentioned (T's and blues) but they're still available as I'm being prescribed them now. (brand name Fortal, without naloxone)
 
Pentazocine is still in Belgium? wow...but like I said...Diconal is still in the MIMS book here and technically can be prescribed to anyone in pain...but it's never gonna happen. Weird what individual countries seem fit to keep around and not.
 
Pentazocine is still rx'd from time to time. Ive had Talwin before. Meh. Now what I could really go for is some Palfium:) had it once and would kick a baby in the face to feel those badboys again.
 
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