# Quaaludes Might Be Back. The Iron Law of Prohibition Never Left.

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/quaaludes-might-be-back-the-iron-law-of-prohibition-never-left/
- Published: 2026-11-04T19:00:34+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T19:30:38+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/2026/11/04/quaaludes-might-be-back-the-iron-law-of-prohibition-never-left/
- Topics: Health, Medicine, Politics

## Key points

- Reports indicate Quaalude use may be returning on a limited scale.
- US production ended in 1983 as controls tightened.
- Congress placed methaqualone in Schedule I in 1984.

## Summary

Reports suggest methaqualone, sold as Quaalude, may be returning in limited use in the United States, decades after it disappeared from the market. The article argues that its history shows how prohibition can suppress a medicine without eliminating demand, while potentially shifting supply into illicit channels.

Methaqualone was marketed from the 1960s as a sleeping pill and became popular recreationally for its relaxing and euphoric effects. Misuse, dependence and overdose concerns led to tighter controls: production quotas fell from 58 million tablets in 1978 to 7.5 million in 1983, and the last US manufacturer stopped production that year. Congress moved it to Schedule I in 1984, despite federal officials recognising medical uses; the supplied article text ends while discussing a court’s later observation about that contradiction.

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