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. 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.
Doriden is the brand-name version of the drug, which is rarely prescribed today.