ethinamate

Ethinamate, marketed as Valmid in the United States and Valamin in Australia, is a central nervous system depressant of the carbamate drug class. It was formerly prescribed as a hypnotic for the short-term treatment of insomnia. The drug has a rapid onset of action, a short elimination half-life of around 2.5 hours, and a correspondingly brief duration of effect. Prolonged use leads to drug tolerance, drug dependence, and diminished efficacy after seven days of continuous use.

== Availability == Ethinamate was introduced by German drug company Schering AG in 1957, marketed as as a sleeping pill with "barbiturate-like" effects and reduced risk of fatality in drug overdose compared to barbiturate overdose. Ethinamate was commonly prescribed in Germany, the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and much of Europe. Ethinamate is not known to be available in any country. Despite being available in the U.S. until 1982, ethinamate largely fell out of favor by the 1960s, as contemporary novel tranquilizers with less tolerance and longer duration of action were viewed as more effective – including methaqualone, ethchlorvynol, glutethimide, methyprylon, meprobamate, and the benzodiazepines chlordiazepoxide and diazepam In the United States, ethinamate is now primarily remembered in connection with the toxicology reports on the death of Elvis Presley: it was listed among multiple sedatives detected in his system, and some forensic experts, including Cyril Wecht, later emphasized that polypharmacy was an important factor in the case.