Blockbusters and controlled substances: Miltown, Quaalude, and consumer demand for drugs in postwar America

Herzberg, David

doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2011.05.005

Cited by 13 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, clinical use of the drug soon revealed that besides giving rise to serious adverse effects, it was highly addictive and induced tolerance and cross-tolerance with other hypnotics. Moreover, concomitantly with its therapeutic use, methaqualone became highly popular as a recreational drug, where it often was consumed in combination with alcohol (known as "luding out") (Falco, 1976;McCarthy et al, 2005;Gass, 2008;Herzberg, 2011). These problems led to the implementation of tighter regulation of the drug, and by the mid1980s, it had been withdrawn from most markets (Carroll and Gallo, 1985;Gass, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multifaceted GABAA Receptor Modulator: Functional Properties and Mechanism of Action of the Sedative-Hypnotic and Recreational Drug Methaqualone (Quaalude)

Hammer¹,

Bader²,

Ehnert³

et al. 2015

Molecular Pharmacology

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In the present study, we have elucidated the functional characteristics and mechanism of action of methaqualone (2-methyl-3-o-tolyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone, Quaalude), an infamous sedative-hypnotic and recreational drug from the 1960s-1970s. Methaqualone was demonstrated to be a positive allosteric modulator at human a 1,2,3,5 b 2,3 g 2S GABA A receptors (GABA A Rs) expressed in Xenopus oocytes, whereas it displayed highly diverse functionalities at the a 4,6 b 1,2,3 d GABA A R subtypes, ranging from inactivity (Methaqualone did not interact with the benzodiazepine, barbiturate, or neurosteroid binding sites in the GABA A R. Instead, the compound is proposed to act through the transmembrane b(1) /a (-) subunit interface of the receptor, possibly targeting a site overlapping with that of the general anesthetic etomidate. The negligible activities displayed by methaqualone at numerous neurotransmitter receptors and transporters in an elaborate screening for additional putative central nervous system (CNS) targets suggest that it is a selective GABA A R modulator. The mode of action of methaqualone was further investigated in multichannel recordings from primary frontal cortex networks, where the overall activity changes induced by the compound at 1-100 mM concentrations were quite similar to those mediated by other CNS depressants. Finally, the free methaqualone concentrations in the mouse brain arising from doses producing significant in vivo effects in assays for locomotion and anticonvulsant activity correlated fairly well with its potencies as a modulator at the recombinant GABA A Rs. Hence, we propose that the multifaceted functional properties exhibited by methaqualone at GABA A Rs give rise to its effects as a therapeutic and recreational drug.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multifaceted GABAA Receptor Modulator: Functional Properties and Mechanism of Action of the Sedative-Hypnotic and Recreational Drug Methaqualone (Quaalude)

Hammer¹,

Bader²,

Ehnert³

et al. 2015

Molecular Pharmacology

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“…It was prescribed as treatment for mental disorder, and was used off-label in the 1960s Hollywood party scene, mixed in a dry martini cocktail that people called a "Miltini". But, Meprobamate turned out to be habit-forming (Tone 2009;Herzberg 2011).…”

Section: Changing Regulatory Regimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Highs

Hardon¹

2020

Critical Studies in Risk and Uncertainty

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Chemical Highs looks at how young people themselves develop and share with their peers a multitude of ways to maximize the pleasures and minimize the risks involved in getting high, an empowering practice that we refer to as “harm reduction from below.” Ethnographies from the Amsterdam festival and afterparty scene illuminate two patterns: young people’s efforts to creatively self-regulate to achieve “hassle-free highs,” and the potentially positive role of government policy. This context is contrasted with that of youth in Indonesia, who also seek out hassle-free highs with their peers, but live under a government that is waging a deadly war against drugs, where they have little access to harm reduction information and tools. Our team discovered that Indonesian youth are turning to psychoactive prescription drugs (PPDs) to get high, which they consider safer than illicit drugs that can lead to the death penalty, but which are also highly addictive.

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“…Yet the enforcement of the “war on drugs” and its representation in popular media stand in stark contrast to the actual rates of substance use; research consistently finds that drug use is fairly evenly distributed across racial groups (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2010). So while drug use is criminalized for those deemed racialized Others, whiteness operates to create exceptions for White users and protect them from state intervention (e.g., Herzberg, 2011; Netherland & Hansen, 2017). White people’s drug use is deemed acceptable (and often legal) because medical experts decide that it falls under the rubric of “medical need” (Herzberg, 2011).…”

Section: White Women Popular Culture and Addiction In Historical Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So while drug use is criminalized for those deemed racialized Others, whiteness operates to create exceptions for White users and protect them from state intervention (e.g., Herzberg, 2011; Netherland & Hansen, 2017). White people’s drug use is deemed acceptable (and often legal) because medical experts decide that it falls under the rubric of “medical need” (Herzberg, 2011). Even when white drug use involves illicit drugs, it is often portrayed as a medical, rather than a criminal, problem (Netherland & Hansen, 2016a, 2016b).…”

Section: White Women Popular Culture and Addiction In Historical Comentioning

confidence: 99%

White Women, U.S. Popular Culture, and Narratives of Addiction

Daniels

Netherland

Lyons

2018

Contemporary Drug Problems

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The United States war on drugs has, for decades now, systematically targeted communities of color. This sustained attack on people of color is accomplished through the use of whiteness. Recently, mainstream news media and elected officials have called for a "gentler war on drugs" to address the opioid epidemic. While some may see this as a welcome change, we take a more critical view. Specifically, we examine the role of White women in two popular television series that feature narratives of addiction as a gendered instance of "white drug exceptionalism." To do this, we conducted a systematic analysis of a narrative television show, Law & Order, and a reality-based show, Intervention, using nine seasons over the same time period (2000-2010). In the procedural drama Law & Order, White women were featured prominently as part of the carceral state, both as police detectives and as prosecutors. Occasionally, White women are portrayed as victims of drug culture. On the rehabinspired Intervention, the majority of all characters are White, and the audience is invited to view drug use and recovery through a white lens that tells a particular kind of story about addiction. Both the carceral model promoted by Law & Order and the therapeutic model valorized by Intervention rely on particular notions of White womanhood mapped onto neoliberal regimes of citizenship that not only compel us all toward "health" and "sobriety" but also warp our collective imagination, so that we only see some drug users as worthy of a gentleness and compassion.

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Blockbusters and controlled substances: Miltown, Quaalude, and consumer demand for drugs in postwar America

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

A Multifaceted GABAA Receptor Modulator: Functional Properties and Mechanism of Action of the Sedative-Hypnotic and Recreational Drug Methaqualone (Quaalude)

A Multifaceted GABAA Receptor Modulator: Functional Properties and Mechanism of Action of the Sedative-Hypnotic and Recreational Drug Methaqualone (Quaalude)

Chemical Highs

White Women, U.S. Popular Culture, and Narratives of Addiction

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