# Commonly Used Drugs/Central Nervous System Depressants

Central Nervous System Depressants :
| Medications that slow brain activity, which makes them useful for treating anxiety and sleep problems. For more information, see the Misuse of Prescription Drugs Research Report. |||||
| Street Names | Commercial Names (Common) | Common Forms | Common Ways Taken | DEA Schedule |
| Barbs, Dolls, Phennies, Red/BlueBirds, Tooties, Yellow Jackets, Yellows | Barbiturates: pentobarbital (Nembutal®) | Pill, capsule, liquid | Swallowed, injected | II, III, IV |
| Benzos, Downers, Poles, Tranks, Totem Z-Bars, Vs, Yellow/Blue Zs, Zannies | Benzodiazepines: alprazolam (Xanax®), chlorodiazepoxide (Librium®), diazepam (Valium®), lorazepam (Ativan®), triazolam (Halicon®) | Pill, capsule, liquid | Swallowed, snorted | IV |
| Forget-me pill, Looney Bar, Mexican Valium, R2, Roche, Tic-Tacs, Sleepeasy, Symphony, Zombie flip | Sleep Medications: eszopiclone (Lunesta®), zaleplon (Sonata®), zolpidem (Ambien®) | Pill, capsule, liquid | Swallowed, snorted | IV |
| Possible Health Effects |||||
| Short-term | Drowsiness, slurred speech, poor concentration, confusion, dizziness, problems with movement and memory, lowered blood pressure, slowed breathing. | Drowsiness, slurred speech, poor concentration, confusion, dizziness, problems with movement and memory, lowered blood pressure, slowed breathing. | Drowsiness, slurred speech, poor concentration, confusion, dizziness, problems with movement and memory, lowered blood pressure, slowed breathing. | Drowsiness, slurred speech, poor concentration, confusion, dizziness, problems with movement and memory, lowered blood pressure, slowed breathing. |
| Long-term | Unknown. | Unknown. | Unknown. | Unknown. |
| Other Health-related Issues | Sleep medications are sometimes used as date rape drugs. Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles. | Sleep medications are sometimes used as date rape drugs. Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles. | Sleep medications are sometimes used as date rape drugs. Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles. | Sleep medications are sometimes used as date rape drugs. Risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases from shared needles. |
| In Combination with Alcohol | Further slows heart rate and breathing, which can lead to death. | Further slows heart rate and breathing, which can lead to death. | Further slows heart rate and breathing, which can lead to death. | Further slows heart rate and breathing, which can lead to death. |
| Withdrawal Symptoms | Must be discussed with a health care provider; barbiturate withdrawal can cause a serious abstinence syndrome that may even include seizures. | Must be discussed with a health care provider; barbiturate withdrawal can cause a serious abstinence syndrome that may even include seizures. | Must be discussed with a health care provider; barbiturate withdrawal can cause a serious abstinence syndrome that may even include seizures. | Must be discussed with a health care provider; barbiturate withdrawal can cause a serious abstinence syndrome that may even include seizures. |
| Treatment Options |||||
| Medications | There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to prescription sedatives; lowering the dose over time must be done with the help of a health care provider. | There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to prescription sedatives; lowering the dose over time must be done with the help of a health care provider. | There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to prescription sedatives; lowering the dose over time must be done with the help of a health care provider. | There are no FDA-approved medications to treat addiction to prescription sedatives; lowering the dose over time must be done with the help of a health care provider. |
| Behavioral Therapies | More research is needed to find out if behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to prescription sedatives. | More research is needed to find out if behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to prescription sedatives. | More research is needed to find out if behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to prescription sedatives. | More research is needed to find out if behavioral therapies can be used to treat addiction to prescription sedatives. |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse