Phenobarbital is a habit-forming drug. The risk of addiction when abusing phenobarbital is lower than with some other drugs, but it is a habit-forming substance. Any abuse of this drug could lead to addiction, side effects, long-term health consequences, overdose, and the need for treatment.
- Phenobarbital is a Schedule IV controlled substance as listed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Schedule IV substances are considered to have some potential for abuse and dependence.
- Some of the street names for phenobarbital include goofballs and purple hearts. All barbiturates are referred to as downers because they depress the central nervous system and are often abused as a way to come down from a stimulant.
- Phenobarbital addiction is much less common than it once was because benzodiazepines have largely replaced barbiturates for treating anxiety, a common mental illness.
- In the 1950s and ‘60s, barbiturates were popular for anxiety control and as sleep aids, but in the 1970s experts became aware of the high rates of overdose deaths caused by these drugs, and prescriptions for them decreased.
- Women are more likely than men to report or seek treatment for abuse of barbiturates like phenobarbital.
