Mandrax

Death may occur when GABAergic substances are combined with depressants such as opiates, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, thienodiazepines or alcohol ¹.

It is strongly discouraged to consume moderate to heavy dosages of these substances together ².

Bandits, beiruts, blou bulle, disco biscuits, ewings, flamingos, flowers, genuines, lemmon 714, lemons, lennons, lovers, ludes, mandies, qua, quaaludes, quack, quad, randy mandies, 714, soaper, sopes, sporos, vitamin q, wagon wheels, cateudil, dormutil, hyminal, isonox, melsed, melsedin, mequelone, mequin, methadorm, mozambin, optimil, parest, renoval, somnafac, toquilone compositum, triador, tuazole.

Depressant

Mandrax is a trade name for methaqualone, a pharmaceutical depressant. It is a synthetic drug that is compiled by means of the mixing of chemicals in a chemical process and a tablet is then produced. At one point, Mandraz was known as a safe and non-dependent drug. People even called it an miracle cure, being prescribed as a sleep aid and to reduce high blood pressure and anxiety attacks.

Eventually serious side-effects of Mandrax were seen, even life threatening when taking with alcohol, and that it could cause psychological and physical dependency. Because of its misuse, Mandrax was banned in many parts of the world. However this did not stop its illegal production and distribution by crime syndicates in the following countries: India, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa, and The Far East ³.

Mandrax was originally created as a sleep aid, being used to help reduce high blood pressure and anxiety attacks. However this highly addictive depressant medication was quickly outlawed once its life threatening side effects were recognised. Today it is illegally produced by means of clandestine laboratories. South Africa is the largest abuser of Mandrax in the world.

While it typically comes in pill form, Mandrax is smoked to get a greater ‘Rush’. Many people who have developed a tolerancethis is the process by which the receptors in your brain become habituated to the action of a drug. When tolerance is reached, more of the drug is required to achieve the same effect. With benzodiazepines, and probably with many other classes of drugs as well, tolerance is virtually always associated with some degree of physical dependence. If you find that you are experiencing tolerance, this is a clear warning sign that you may have formed a dependence. More to the drug will then begin to take mandrax with small amounts of dagga to achieve the desire affects. Mandraz can cause people to become physically dependent on it and have severe withdrawal symptoms in rehabilitation ³.

Originally mandrax were smooth, firm white tablets with Mx written on the side of the tablet. Nowadays they can also be grey or yellow in colour, slightly freckled and with soft crumbly texture. They vary in colour, size and texture because they sometimes contain other drugs and are made illegally without keeping to proper standards ⁴.

Despite prior speculation, a 2015 study demonstrates that methaqualone exhibits distinct functional properties at the GABAGamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your brain, meaning it slows your brain's functions. GABA is known for producing a calming effect. receptor sites compared with other allosteric modulators, and it mediates these through a different mechanism than the barbiturates and benzodiazepines that it historically has been lumped together with ⁶.

These distinctions could contribute to the reported differences in the in vivo effects induced by methaqualone and classic CNSthe Central Nervous System, upon which certain drugs act depressants. In any case, the multifaceted functionality of methaqualone at GABAGamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your brain, meaning it slows your brain's functions. GABA is known for producing a calming effect. A receptorsnerve endings that sense changes in the body More seems to be at the root of its clinical efficacy, as well as the addiction liability and recreational use associated with the drug ⁶.

It could be speculated that despite differences in targeted receptorsnerve endings that sense changes in the body More, methaqualone essentially produces a variety of effects by binding to its receptor sites and magnifying the efficiency and effects of the neurotransmitter GABAGamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your brain, meaning it slows your brain's functions. GABA is known for producing a calming effect. by acting on its receptorsnerve endings that sense changes in the body More. As this site is the most prolific inhibitory receptor set within the brain, its modulation would explain the resulting sedating or calming effects which ensue ².

Mandrax are usually smoked but can be swallowed or injected. Most people crush the tablets, mix them with dagga and smoke them in a pipe or bottleneck ⁴.

• yellow stained hands,
• bloodshot eyes,
• gaunt appearance,
• rotten teeth,
• drowsiness,
• unnatural sleeping patterns,
• loss of appetite,
• increased saliva secretion,
• swollen abdomen ³, ⁷.

Abrupt discontinuation of methaqualone following regular dosing over several days can result in a withdrawal phase which includes rebound symptoms such as increased anxiety and insomniadifficulty in going to sleep or in getting enough sleep. It is possible to gradually reduce the dose over the course of several days, which will lengthen the duration of the withdrawal period but reduce the perceived intensity ².

Withdrawal may last a few days and start a few days after stopping use. Some signs of withdrawal are –

• sleeping problems,
• nervous,
• anxious,
• irritable feelings,
• headaches,
• restlessness,
• eating problems ⁴.

• broken bottles and bottle necks,
• homemade filters – known as a ‘Diamond’,
• brown stained tissues,
• containers used to spit in,
• lotto and tab tickets in which tablets are crushed ⁹.

Mandrax is a highly addictive drug that produces severe symptoms of withdrawal during rehabilitation. This is why most patients suffering from a mandrax addiction require detoxification to control cravings and symptoms of withdrawal, allowing them to safely work though the withdrawal period. Patients also goes through extensive therapy and counselling sessions to get to the root cause of the addiction, getting a full understanding of their addiction and developing the key skills needed to maintain their sobriety in their day to day lives ³, ⁷.

Mandrax is a synthetic drug that is compiled by means of the mixing of chemicals in a chemical process and a tablet is then produced. The active ingredient in Mandrax is Methaqualone.

In the sixties and early seventies these tablets were prescribed as sleeping tablets. Other medicinal uses included illnesses like high blood pressure and anxiety attacks.

Mandrax was originally known as a safe and non-dependent drug. It was the drug that people reckoned was going to be the miracle cure of the world at its time.

It was however found that Mandrax had various side-effects, especially if it was used with Dagga and alcohol, which was life threatening because it caused psychological and physical dependency. This caused a drastic increase in burglaries, especially at pharmacies, where it was found that Mandrax specifically was stolen. Mandrax was banned in most parts of the world because of the misuse ⁹.