Soma Information
Soma is a muscle relaxant that is prescribed after an injury makes muscles tense or lock up. The generic term for this drug is carisoprodol, and it may come in a pill compounded with aspirin, codeine or caffeine.
Unfortunately, this drug has become a frequently-abused drug. It is a drug that also creates a tolerance in the user, meaning that more and more of the drug must be abused to get the effect the drug user intended. It can also result in addiction. More than two million people in the US have abused Soma at some point in their lives.
When abused, Soma creates pain relief, sedation, sleepiness and muscle relaxation. In the body, the drug breaks down in part to form meprobamate, itself a drug that is sold to reduce anxiety. The brand names of meprobamate are Miltown and Equanil.
In the last decade, carisoprodol abuse has increased greatly to the point that it was sending more than 30,000 people to emergency rooms by 2009. Soma is often abused in combination with other drugs, particularly Vicodin (hydrocodone) and Xanax (alprazolam). This combination became known as a “Houston Cocktail” or the “Holy Trinity.” The popularity of this combination means that these three drugs are dispensed in huge numbers by unscrupulous medical doctors staffing “pill mills” - pain management clinics that exist just to distribute drugs for profit. For example, in one 15-month period, a Houston pain management doctor dashed off 43,000 prescriptions for Soma.
Soma may also be abused with codeine, which is referred to as a Soma Coma. It may also be mixed with alcohol, Valium or heroin. Of the 30,000 who landed in the emergency room, only 18% used Soma by itself, 25% involved two drugs and a third involved two other drugs. One in eight involved four or more - a drug abuse practice that means medical personnel are going to have a very hard time untangling the symptoms to save someone’s life.
Results of Abusing Soma
When Soma is taken in large dosages, as is common when a person is abusing the drug, there are a number of side effects that may also appear that are undesirable to the person who just wished to get high - dizziness, blurred vision, loss of coordination, weakness and tightness in the chest.
Fast-acting Soma is addictive and can kill through an overdose. When a person overdoses, they are likely to experience chills, racing heart, vomiting, suppressed breathing and sedation, leading to shock, coma and death.
A person trying to withdraw from Soma may suffer from nausea, stomach pain and cramps, headache, and difficulty sleeping. A person coming off Soma may need to be withdrawn slowly rather than just stopping use of the drug.
Drug Enforcement Administration Changes Soma’s Status
In 2011, the DEA finally acted to restrict this drug’s distribution. Because of its high abuse potential and addictiveness, it was placed on Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances list, along with benzodiazepines and barbiturates.
But it is not hard to acquire Soma if you can find an unscrupulous doctor. People living along the Mexican border may just cross over to buy the drug. Getting off the drug once you become addicted may not be as easy.
Finding Recovery
Fortunately, some people who need to recover from an addiction to Soma—with or without other drugs—have chosen Narconon drug rehabilitation centers for their recoveries.
The Narconon program not only addresses the debilitating effects of drug abuse on the mind and body but also resolves why a person turned to drugs in the first place. As a result, a person can graduate from the program into a new life free from drug use.
Contact Narconon for more information on the center nearest you.
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