Glutethimide

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Glutethimide
Systematic (IUPAC) name
3-ethyl-3-phenyl-piperidine-2,6-dione
Identifiers
CAS number	77-21-4
ATC code	N05CE01
PubChem	3487
DrugBank	N/A
Chemical data
Formula	C13H15NO2
Mol. mass	217.264 g/mol
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability	Variable
Metabolism	Hepatic
Half life	10-12 hours
Excretion	Renal:2% Fecal:2% Lactic (in lactiferous females)
Therapeutic considerations
Pregnancy cat.	C: (USA)
Legal status	Schedule II
Routes	Oral

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. The street name for a combination of two doriden and four Codeine #4s a "load" or "doors and fours" . Glutethimide is a Schedule II drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances[1]. Doriden is the brand-name version of the drug, which is rarely prescribed today.

[edit] See also

• Aminoglutethimide