Barbiturates are still used for surgical anesthesia, as well as in the treatment of epilepsy, and to help reduce intracranial pressure following traumatic brain injury. However, in the 1960s another class of sedative-hypnotics, also GABAA agonists, was introduced—benzodiazepines—and these were purported to be much safer and less addictive than their predecessors. Not surprisingly, those claims were overstated. Millions of people are now hooked on benzos, but on the bright side it’s not possible to overdose from them alone, so the market is likely to stay strong.
