Glutethimide

Glutethimide is a hypnotic sedative that was introduced in 1954 as a safe alternative to barbiturates to treat insomnia. Before long, however, it had become clear that glutethimide was just as likely to cause addiction and caused similarly severe withdrawal symptoms. Doriden is the brand-name version of the drug; both the generic and brand-name forms are rarely prescribed today.

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Legal status

Glutethimide is a Schedule II drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances[1]. It was originally a Schedule III drug in the United States under the Controlled Substances Act, but in 1991 it was upgraded to Schedule II, more than a decade after recreational abusers discovered that combining the drug with codeine produced a euphoria which closely resembles that obtained from heroin.

A question has appeared on the DABT examination (www.abtox.org) on Glutethimide.

Recreational use

Glutethimide is a CYP2D6 enzyme inducer. When taken with codeine, it enables the body to convert higher amounts of the codeine (higher than the average 5 - 10%) in to morphine.

The street name for a combination of Doriden and Codeine #4 is a "load" or "doors and fours" or "Pancakes" in Pancakes and Syrup (Glutethimide and codeine based cough syrup).^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Aminoglutethimide