Powerful drugs that slow down the nervous system and can cause sleepiness, used medically as sedatives or anesthetics.
From barbituric acid, a compound synthesized from urea and malonic acid in 1863. Named after 'Barbituria' (possibly named after Barbara, a female saint, or the city Barbara in Germany).
Barbiturates were miracle drugs in the 1950s-60s that doctors prescribed like candy to help people sleep, until society realized they were hugely addictive—a lesson that taught doctors to be more careful about new drugs!
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