QUICK FACTS: Rohypnol, known as “roofies” and roaches,” is a sedative-hypnotic drug. Increasing dosages produces signs of progressive central nervous system depression ranging from sedation to sleep. Chronic use of high doses leads to the development of tolerance, but a level of intoxication can always be reached if the dose is high enough. Chronic use of large doses also leads to physical depe...

Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is a naturally occurring analog of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) that has been used in research and clinical medicine for many years. In the past decade it has become very popular as a dietary supplement and recreational drug. Acute overdose leads to profound alteration of mental status and variable amounts of respiratory depression. With proper management, most...

The benzodiazepines were developed in the 1950s, some introduced in the 1960s, and many more since then. Pharmacologically, they are sedative/hypnotics akin to alcohol, chloral, the barbiturates, and meprobamate. All have been widely used both within and outside the licit medical context. Usage of benzodiazepines increased dramatically during the 1960s and early 1970s; tranquilizer but not hypn...

Maleimides and aziridines are well known for the diversity of their applications in medicinal chemistry. A great number of compounds with an aziridine ring have been synthesized, many of which have shown signi®cant cytotoxicity against some tumour cells, such as mitomycin C, which is a bioreductive alkylating agent used in anticancer therapy (Kim et al., 1996; Kumar et al., 1996). Maleimides ha...