Tuinal
Encyclopedia
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
composed of two barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
salts (secobarbital
Secobarbital
Secobarbital sodium is a barbiturate derivative drug that was first synthesized in 1928 in Germany. It possesses anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, sedative and hypnotic properties...
sodium and amobarbital
Amobarbital
Amobarbital is a drug that is a barbiturate derivative. It has sedative-hypnotic and analgesic properties. It is a white crystalline powder with no odor and a slightly bitter taste. It was first synthesized in Germany in 1923...
sodium) in equal proportions.
Tuinal was introduced as a sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
medication in the late 1940s by Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
. It was produced in gelatin capsule form for oral administration. Individual capsules contained 50 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg of barbiturate salts.
Eli Lilly has discontinued the manufacture of Tuinal in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
due to the diminishing use of barbiturates in outpatient treatment. Currently Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals
Ranbaxy Laboratories
Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited is a pharmaceutical company that was incorporated in India in 1961. The company went public in 1973 and Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo gained majority control in 2008...
is the sole producer of this barbiturate formulation. In the United Kingdom, Tuinal, Seconal and Sodium Amytal are manufactured by Flynn Pharma of Ireland. Amytal has been discontinued, though Sodium Amytal remains.
Abuse
Tuinal is classified as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act
Controlled Substances Act
The Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain...
in the United States - it requires a prescription from a licensed practitioner.
Popular media references
In Ian FlemingIan Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's short story "The Living Daylights" (published in Octopussy and The Living Daylights
Octopussy and The Living Daylights
Octopussy and The Living Daylights is the fourteenth and final James Bond book written by Ian Fleming in the Bond series...
, 1966) Commander Bond takes the drug before an assault on a KGB sniper: " He selected the Tuinal, chased down two of the ruby and blue depth-charges with a glass of water, and went back to bed. Then, poleaxed, he slept"
In a scene from the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary is a 1983 horror novel by Stephen King. It was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and was later made into a film of the same name.-Plot:...
, the main character, Dr. Louis Creed, swallows a Tuinal to calm himself down. Creed then recalls a friend from medical school with a particular fondness for Tuinal, which the friend dubbed "the Toonerville trolley," or "tooners" for short.
Gram Parsons, deceased American singer/songwriter, formerly of The Flying Burrito Brothers, used to wear a Nudie jacket, created by Manual Cuevas, which contained graphic representations of Tuinal capsules. The jacket appears on the cover of the LP "Gilded Palace of Sin".
In "The Old Main Drag," a song from The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
' 1985 album Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash
Rum Sodomy & the Lash is the second studio album by the London-based folk punk band The Pogues, released in 1985.The title is taken from a quotation, often attributed to Winston Churchill: "Don't talk to me about naval tradition...
, the drug is name-checked: In the cold winter nights, the old town it was chill / But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills / If you didn't have the money, you'd cajole and you'd beg / There was always lots of Tuinal on the old main drag.
In the Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
song "Lost Johnny," the drug appears in the verse "We're all taking Tuinal to murder our young dreams." Later, when Motörhead performed the song, the verse became "We're all shooting Tuinal to murder all your dreams."
In John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
's poem "Shattered Image" (1970), an accused child molestor wonders how many of his Tuinal - used, presumably, as a recreational depressant - it will take to kill himself.
In Grace Paley
Grace Paley
Grace Paley was an American-Jewish short story writer, poet, and political activist.-Biography:Grace Paley was born in the Bronx to Isaac and Manya Ridnyik Goodside, who anglicized the family name from Gutseit on immigrating from Ukraine. Her father was a doctor. The family spoke Russian and...
's poem "On the Fourth Floor", a boy screams to his girl that of sixteen Tuinal, he cannot account for two.
In Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran
Andrew Holleran is the pseudonym of Eric Garber , a novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is a prominent novelist of post-Stonewall gay literature. He was a member of The Violet Quill, a gay writer's group that met briefly from 1980-81. The Violet Quill included other prolific gay writers...
's novel Dancer from the Dance
Dancer from the Dance
Dancer from the Dance is a 1978 novel by Andrew Holleran about gay men in New York City, United States.-Plot summary:The novel revolves around two main characters: Anthony Malone, a young man from the Midwest who leaves behind his "straight" life as a lawyer to immerse himself in the gay life of...
(1978), a case of overdose in a discotheque is mentioned: "The boy passed out on the sofa from an overdose of Tuinols [sic] was a Puerto Rican who washed dishes in the employees' cafeteria at CBS, but the doctor bending over him had treated presidents."
In The Ramones song "Psycho Therapy
Subterranean Jungle
Subterranean Jungle is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones. It was released in February 1983 and peaked at position eighty-three on the Billboard album music chart. It was re-released on August 20th, 2002 on CD by Rhino Records."Time Bomb" featured Dee Dee's first...
," Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
sings in the second verse "I like taking Tuinal / It keeps me edgy and mean / I'm a teenage schizoid / I'm a teenage dope fiend."
In Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (1996 book), Eliot Kidd refers to Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious
Sid Vicious was an English musician best known as the bassist of the influential punk rock group Sex Pistols...
taking "about thirty Tuinals" at the Chelsea Hotel in New York, the night Nancy Spungen
Nancy Spungen
Nancy Laura Spungen was the American girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. Spungen has been the subject of controversy among music historians and fans of the Sex Pistols.-Early life:...
was found stabbed to death and for which Sid was charged with her murder.
The Queers
The Queers
The Queers are a punk band formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . The band originally broke up in 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new line-up in 1986. In 1990, the band signed with Shakin' Street Records and released their first album Grow Up...
song "Feeling So Groovy" has the verse "I'm really not that dumb you know / got lots of beer and Tuinals".
In the movie Taxi Driver, the gun dealer Easy Andy (Steven Prince) offers Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro) Tuinal.
In the movie Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
, Jack's narration refers to "red and blue Tuinals" when he sees the doctor about his insomnia.
In the Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
song "New Sensations," he sings: "It's easy enough to tell what is wrong, but that's not what I want to hear all night long, some people are like human Tuinals."
The W.A.S.P song "Doctor Rockter" includes the lyrics: "Cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, Codeine
Codeine
Codeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...
, 714
Methaqualone
Methaqualone is a sedative-hypnotic drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general central nervous system depressant. The sedative-hypnotic activity was first noted by Indian researchers in the 1950s and in 1962 methaqualone itself was patented in the US by Wallace and Tiernan...
, a Tuinol blindfold just what I need."
American writer/poet/singer Jim Carroll
Jim Carroll
James Dennis "Jim" Carroll was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.-Biography:Carroll was born to a...
is reputed to be the voice heard asking Brigid Polk about the availability of Tuinals between songs on The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's Live at Max's Kansas City
Live at Max's Kansas City
Live at Max's Kansas City is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was originally released on May 30, 1972, by Cotillion, a subsidiary label of Atlantic Records.-About the album:...
album.
In Behind the Music
Behind the Music
Behind the Music is a television series on VH1. It originally ran from 1997 to 2006, before it was stopped and only aired new episodes sporadically. The series places its generality on documentation of musical artists or groups who are interviewed and profiled, and discuss how their careers became...
on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, the rock band Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
mentioned Tuinal and Seconal as two of the primary drugs that members of the band abused in the 70's and 80's.
In Anthony Kiedis' memoir, Scar Tissue, he mentions "melting tuinals in a spoon" (unsuccessfully) and attempting to inject them.
In the 2005 movie Where the Truth Lies
Where the Truth Lies
Where the Truth Lies is a 2005 Canadian/British drama film, written and directed by Atom Egoyan. It stars Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, and Alison Lohman, and is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Rupert Holmes.-Plot:...
, set in both 1957 and 1972, there are many on-screen examples of Tuinal consumption - often with alcohol. Tuinals were taken by the leading characters (loosely based upon a Martin & Lewis-like comedy team Lanny Morris and Vince Collins) and by the leading female characters and contributed to significant plot advances. Some dialogue justifies the use of pills like Tuinal because they weren't as bad as injection drugs, thus "didn't count".
In Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
' book "Life", he mentions "In the cap's pockets there's hash, Tuinals and some coke." Page 5
In the 1986 movie Sid and Nancy
Sid and Nancy
Sid and Nancy is a 1986 British biopic directed by Alex Cox. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious , bassist of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen .-Plot:The film opens with several police officers dragging Sid Vicious out of the Hotel...
Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy can be seen buying and shooting up Tuinal (which is incorrectly said to be speed in the movie)