Random drug dive: Quaalude

In the interest of this hole not getting deleted again I thought I'd do little write-ups on some more obscure drugs every once in a while for anyone who cares. (* ^ ω ^)

Methqualone better known by its brand name Quaalude is a sedative drug that was introduced to the public as a sleep medication in the 1960s and popularized as a recreational drug in the 1970s. It would be discontinued in the US in 1985 and is presently a Schedule 1 drug. It's also banned pretty much everywhere else! Methqualone is probably best known to internet age users from videos like this.

The drug's effects are usually compared to benzos with some notable differences. Methqualone is heavily sedative but most users report a strong sense of simultaneous euphoria. Other primary effects include anxiety suppression and somewhat famously an increased libido. For many users however, the sleepiness induced by the drug overpowered all other effects.

It also kills the frick out of you if combined with any significant dosage of many other drugs. Alcohol being one of the primary culprits. Taking methqualone with booze, opioids, benzos, barbiturates, and more could cause you to slip into a coma and die without medical intervention. Due to the sedative effects, many people would combine it with stimulants to stay awake and to experience the euphoric effects for longer. Despite the risk from alcohol many users enjoyed 'luding out' which involved taking methqualone and wine at the same time.

A safe dosage of methqualone for first timers is reported to be around 100mg. The risk of overdose decreases as tolerances rises but the max dosage for heavy users (from what I can find) is about 8000mg. It's also very addictive! The most common withdrawal symptoms are an extreme insomnia and persistent feelings of anxiety. Other negative physical effects have also been reported like nausea, tremors, and even hallucinations (although some of those may just be occurring due to the lack of sleep).

If you wanted to get Quaaludes nowadays you're shit out of luck. They're not manufactured in any major country and you cant even get them by prescription. If you wanna make some methqualone yourselves there are various guides online, although from what I've read it's usually a pain in the butt and you don't get very much out of each batch.

Due to the difficulty in making homemade methqualone and the wall that most western countries have put up on its manufacture its usage has pretty much collapsed. And if you get your hands on 'some' it's probably just fent. Most of its usage has been historical as an aforementioned party drug. It was also notorious as a date r*pe drug. Some of you may be aware that Bill Cosby admitted to giving Quaaludes to some of his victims before raping them.

The drug remains popular in the developing world. In the 2000s methqualone was the most abused drug in South Africa, and in India it's still used illegally to this day. But for the rest of us, Quaaludes have been dumped into obscurity.

Here's what a package of quaalude looked like back in the day:

Further reading:

Erowid methqualone experience vault

Until next time crackheads