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Darvon / Darvocet
SAFETY INFORMATION - IMPORTANT
Will This “Kick Pill” Kill You or Cure You? - By Bill Landis
There are several members of the Darvon family.
Darvocet contains propoxyphene napsylate, of which 100mg is equivalent to 65mg hydrochloride salt, is compounded with 650 mg of Tylenol (paracematol), and appears as a reddish pink oblong tablet.
Darvon-N
contains 100mg of propoxyphene napsylate without the Tylenol, and appears as a
yellow oblong tablet. The maximum recommended daily dosage of each is 6
tablets a day (390 mg for propoxyphene Darvon products are chemically related to Methadone, which is how they comes into play with people detoxing, using them as a substitute for other narcotics, or as its own addiction. Street junkie parlance places two Darvon tablets as equal to a “capful,” i.e. 5mg of Methadone. A dedicated group of Methadone addicts use approximately four tablets of Darvon to boost their morning dose for an additional buzz. Some Methadone addicts on a low dose in the 20-30 mg range sell their once a week take home and substitute perhaps four to six Darvon tablets the day they skip dosing. While the dose of Darvon is not equipotent to the Methadone, Methadone is long acting and will persist after the previous day’s dose. Thus, the Darvon will tide them over for the day they skip. They feel their next dose of Methadone more intensely than usual because skipping a day briefly lowered their tolerance. This creates a typical, unfortunate and ultimately dangerous scenario for many Methadone patients. The Methadone leaves them receptive to taking other drugs or alcohol to chase the nod they used to achieve from heroin, which increases the chance for liver problems, toxicity and overdose. David was referred to in the bureaucratic parlance of American Methadone clinics as a “multi-problem” patient; i.e., he’d take any drug in front of him. David liked to start his day with one or two Darvon-Ns before he dosed at his clinic. He’d sometimes take up to six of these tablets at once to reproduce a nod, a potentially fatal practice. David eventually died at age 44 from complications from drug addiction, liver failure, sexually transmitted diseases, and hepatitis B and C. It is no coincidence that the black market in Darvon products in New York City is often in close proximity to Methadone clinics. It occurs around such transitory as streets as 14th Street and 23rd Street that are borders between neighborhoods. Uptown, on Harlem’s main drag of 125th Street, there is also a roaring trade in black market pharmaceuticals.
Pushers obtain their products from desperate doctors who accept Medicaid, the USA’s free health insurance that is only available to those on the dole or in financial need. They deal with Medicaid doctors who often are dishonest Asian “Doctor Bombay” types, who accept bribes for prescriptions or charge the state for a bunch of expensive tests they never performed on the patient. Since it is a low priority controlled substance, Darvon products are a fairly easy transaction between the pusher and the doctor. The pushers then sell Darvon products for as little as $1 or as much as $2.50 to customers. Methadone addicts who supplement their doses, people who developed a liking for the drug and have exhausted their prescriptions, or junkies attempting a home detox purchase Darvon products from the pill salesmen. Darvon and Darvon-N are preferred because they have no additives except for filler; but people will purchase Darvocet even though it has a great deal of Tylenol because it is so commonly available. The homebrew detox method used by heroin addicts that is circulated by word of mouth and not medically sanctioned involves taking a tablet upon waking and about four tablets a night combined with two or three benzodiazapine tranquilizers. Benzodiazapine tranquilizers considerably enhance Darvon products’ sedation, muscle relaxant and mild euphoric properties. The sensation is very similar to a small dose of methadone, can feel quite pleasant, and is addictive with long term use. The choice of tranquilizer is also important, as different people respond to various ones better. The most conservative and useful in suppressing withdrawal symptoms is Librium (chlorodiazepoxide), which is long acting with a slow peak and long half-life. Librium is employed with Darvon products in hospital detox settings. Valium (diazepam) is another traditional choice, and helpful. Xanax (alprazolam) is short acting, avoids the depression of Valium, but has a greater risk for blackouts and rebound anxiety in which the user has a panic attack when it wears off. Ativan (lorazepam) is also short acting, reaches a peak at the same time as Darvon (within two hours) but can also cause one to involuntarily pass out. It is strongly advised not to take Klonopin (Clonazepam, Rivitrol) either during a detox – or ever. It de-inhibits aggression to the point of rages and fistfights, causes blackouts, and creates a rapid and debilitating addiction which is painful and difficult to withdraw from. A Hollywood film writer was in the middle of an upsetting divorce and was taking every sort of narcotic and sedative that was not nailed down. He obtained prescriptions for Darvon and Klonopin. Later that evening, he shoved his wife and was served with a restraining order. His misuse of the pills, particularly the Klonopin, led to him having a hospitalized detox. One hardcore New York junkie stated that he took four Darvocets each evening with three to four Valiums and “slept like a baby” each night of his turkey. Still, many people report a withdrawal syndrome including as flu symptoms, body aches, weakness and depression for two to three days after stopping the pills. The syndrome they describe is less severe than a sudden cold turkey off gear. The medication seems to arrest and take the edge off the initial turkey syndrome. However, there are dangers to this methodology. Darvon products can cause breathing stops and fatal pulmonary edema – heart stoppage and fluid in the lungs. These dangers are increased when one ingests a contraindicated amount of tranquilizers or alcohol. Turkeying can cause respiratory disturbances, so adding this chemical can be a dangerous route, especially for those whose physicality is intolerant to Darvon products. Darvocet also contains so much Tylenol that ingesting several tablets at once is hard on the liver. Bruce, a well heeled Manhattan film editor, had a severe habit consisting of approximately ten dime bags of heroin a day. He saw a prominent private physician who specializes in detoxification and was given the following dropdown medication schedule that employed Darvon, the tranquilizer Valium, and the antidepressant Trazadone, which is a heavy sleeper. The schedule ran as follows: Days 1-2: two Darvon every 4-6 hours totaling 8 tablets; one 10mg Valium three times per day; one Trazadone at bedtime. Days 3-4: two Darvon every 4-6 hours totaling 6 tablets; one 10mg Valium three times per day; one Trazadone at bedtime. Days 5-6: one Darvon every 4-6 hours totaling 4 tablets; one 10mg Valium three times per day; one Trazadone at bedtime Days 7-8: one Darvon every 4-6 hours totaling 4 tablets; one 10mg Valium three times per day; one Trazadone at bedtime Days 9-10: one Darvon every 6-8 hours totaling 2 tablets; one 10mg Valium three times per day; one Trazadone at bedtime The theory behind the schedule is that the Darvon would build up in Bruce’s system by taking the same dose for two days in a row, creating a half-life that would make the dropdown run smoothly, and the other medications would help control the withdrawal symptoms and induce sleep. Bruce was supposed to adhere to these instructions in order to completely clean out before starting a prescription for the narcotic antagonist naltrexone. He had followed it in the past, complained he still got sick after he stopped taking the Darvon, but managed to stay on oral naltrexone and avoid heroin for almost a year afterwards. The last time Bruce attempted to kick he was unable to stay on the schedule and kept falling off the wagon to chase the bag. Bruce’s doctor, who had treated him in the past, was angry and disgusted with him, and said it would be the last time he prescribed detoxification medication for him. Nicky, who runs this Brown Addict site, has stated that the naltrexone implant has worked for her because it prevents Bruce’s pratfall of falling back on heroin. Her implant provides sustained release naltrexone, and simply closes off the option of getting high on heroin again. Having remained clean since her implant treatment, Nicky’s example must be considered successful. There are individuals who go on runs of different opiates, and they inevitably have an experience with Darvon products. Brad and Danielle, a New York City couple that are seasoned pharmaceutical users reported many strange incidents involving Darvocet. Brad recalls that. “I got them through Tito, this Puerto Rican pill salesman at the 14th Street OTB back when it was thriving in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His selling point for them was that they were almost as strong as a Tylenol with 60mg Codeine, but that the Codeine cost $2.50-3 per pill while the Darvocet cost only $1. I had known Tito for a while. He used to be an intense junkie who also shot a lot of cocaine. Then he went on Methadone, gained a lot of weight, and shifted his get-highs to various pharmaceuticals that enhanced his dose, like Darvocet and Percocet. “At first the Darvocet both relaxed me and pepped me up; a nice feeling not dissimilar to Codeine although not as intense. Soon, though, it was giving me sleep disturbances and hyperactive behavior. I got into all sorts of weird situations on Darvocet, some involving Tito that really showed after the fact that the Darvocet was impairing my judgment. I would take the subway from my midtown office and meet Tito at the OTB on 14th Street. To avoid arrest he didn’t carry the Darvocets on him. He had them hidden in a ziplock back within a brown paper bag inside the shrubs in front of a nice Greenwich Village apartment building. We’d meet at OTB and walk over there. I would end up having a snack on the go because I wouldn’t have time for a proper meal, and would sometimes be late returning to work. “Once Tito stole a prescription for Codeine with Tylenol from a Medicaid doctor’s office. He talked me into passing this bad script at a local drugstore. I looked like a straightlaced office worker on the surface, and he looked like what he was - a shifty drug addict - so he was a bad risk for a drugstore in a good neighborhood. I even managed to keep a straight face when the pharmacist pointed out there was no name written for down the patient. I blurted out, ‘it’s Carmen Soto. She lives in Spanish Harlem on 110th Street. She had a serious injury, a gunshot wound.’ Tito sat nodding out on the curb outside the pharmacy door, clutching a Racing Form. Surprisingly, the transaction worked smoothly, the pharmacist just wanted money, and I called my wife Danielle who was relieved that I wasn’t arrested.” “Tito gave me many Codeine tablets out of that bottle. Later that night I took a considerable amount of them and only felt any high for a few minutes. It dawned on me that the Darvocet was mimicking Methadone in that it was creating a blockage dose where I couldn’t feel any other opiates, which led me to stop using it on anything but a really irregular basis. “Many years ago I once followed the street detox schedule of four to five Darvocets a day for a week with a small dose of Librium to kick a gear habit. While it did control the turkeying, when I stopped the pills I still developed flu symptoms and depression.” Danielle initially felt that “the Darvocet gave me an artificial sense of well being. But it caused a lot of mental clouding. Once I walked in front of traffic, and a speeding car almost hit me near Grand Central Station. A businessman had to grab me and pull me back. It also caused breathing stops, which were scary. It was pretty easy to get off the drug because after a while it felt like I was having a bad reaction to it.” There are certain chronic pain patients who obtain Darvon products through doctor visits and take a liking to the drug. They also find it effective as a substitute for stronger narcotics like Vicodin or Percocet, and periodically utilize it to lower their escalating tolerance to these drugs. Joe, who lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, provides a typical example. Joe was a case of narcotics being both his preferred drugs and a medical necessity for a herniated disk. Joe was naturally inclined towards opiates; his brother was on the Methadone program. Originally from urban New Jersey, Joe had moved to Florida, often working in pharmaceuticals storage facilities and as a drugstore deliveryman (which gave him the opportunity to boost products). He had also received workers’ compensation and a lawsuit settlement for an on the job injury. Joe saw several doctors in order to have a selection of various medications, which he also sold on the side. Joe was pretty quiet, anonymous and kept a low profile in his neighborhood. Experience had taught him to avoid going for a big get-high and simply maintain. “If you play you gotta pay,” as he aptly put it. Normally he took Vicodin but also alternated it with Darvocet. “If I take three Darvocets at night with a beer, I get pretty loaded.” Joe also combined the Darvocet with Xanax or Valium and an occasional muscle relaxant. However, he remained pretty even-tempered and didn’t show signs of being inebriated. In the internet age, chronic pain patients now have the option of purchasing Darvon products online, without the trouble of a doctor office visit or the possibility of being turned down or given a different medication. The price can range from $100-$200 for a prescription of 90 pills. For such a common medication, there are many dangers involving Darvon products. At regular doses the pills can cause breathing stops, chest pains, and drowsiness paradoxically followed by insomnia. A major risk is that chronic doses of eight tablets or more per day will cause toxic psychosis, hallucinations, convulsions and seizures. There are street people in New York City who abuse this drug, with an instance of one case combining the highly toxic dose of 15 tablets per day with cocaine. Darvon seems to hold an attraction for aged and burned-out street hustlers in New York’s red light district, Times Square. These individuals exhibit all manner of aggressive, agitated, delusional, and manic behavior. The biggest danger with Darvon products is death, either from overdose or from a toxic reaction to the pills. And it is difficult to determine the overdose level. The pills can kill you from pulmonary edema, heart failure, or coma. They have been employed in suicides, often with sedatives like Valium. The current American Physician’s Desk Reference contains a warning that the pills are not to be given to patients with suicidal ideation. One of the most frightening deaths caused from Darvon was that of the great iconoclastic American music writer Lester Bangs. Bangs brilliantly described the aesthetics of 1960s garage rock, the feral sound of Iggy and the Stooges, and covered punk rock pioneers like the Ramones, Sex Pistols and the Clash. Throughout his life, Bangs had abused many drugs, including intravenous speed, Codeine, DMX based cough medicine, Valium and related sedatives, Darvon, and had bouts with alcoholism. Bangs managed to clean up and attend AA meetings. However, one night Bangs was suffering from the flu, and, according to musician Robert Quine, was extremely depressed. Bangs just wanted some relief. He lived at the corner of 14th Street and 6th Avenue in New York City, which is a haven for pill salesmen. Quine says that Bangs produced a handful of Valium and then consumed them. He later ingested Darvon. Friends found him dead in his apartment later that evening. Bangs was only 33 years old. A disturbing fact stands out in this tragedy and serves as the ultimate warning about this drug: it could not be determined whether Bangs had consumed two Darvons or twenty. While it has been demonstrated that Darvon, Darvocet, and Darvon-N have blunted and eased withdrawal symptoms with some individuals, this pharmaceutical family is to be approached with the utmost caution. Even though they are considered a mild narcotic, they have a plethora of side effects and one should always be aware that these pills can kill you.
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of Bill Landis and his collaborator Michelle Clifford at Exploitation
and 1970s classic adult movies and the Times Square vice world documented, and
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Last updated: 31 August 2004 |
Darvon
is 65mg of propoxyphene hydrochloride and usually appears as a small gray and
pink tablet marked SK-65. It is also combined with aspirin and caffeine
under the name Darvon Compound. 
hydrochloride; 600 mg for propoxyphene napsylate). The tablets last 4-6
hours, with a peak effects at the 2-3 hour mark, and have a half-life of up to
48 hours with repeated dosing. The major difference between propoxyphene
hydrochloride and propoxyphene napsylate is that the hydrochloride has a more
severe and dramatic peak. Darvon, Darvocet or Darvon-Ns are known under
the slang names pinks, footballs, pink footballs, yellow footballs, 65’s,
and N’s.
Sellers
and buyers often congregate in New York’s version of British licensed
betting establishments, the Off Track Betting parlors, known as OTBs.
OTBs sell betting tickets on horseracing and are cesspools of addiction and
psychosis. They are housed in filthy storefronts, which are littered
from old newspapers, betting forms, and ripped up losing tickets. Foul
body odor, cigarette smoke, and the odor of cheap liquor hangs in the fetid
air. Most of the population of OTB is composed of Chinese gamblers, the
occasional white New Yorker having a bad gambling episode, and many older
black and Hispanic men who sell pills. Many of the Hispanic men sell
pills to finance their gambling addiction, dropping perhaps $200 a day at OTB
before returning to their penurious single room occupancy flophouses. There
are pill salesmen on Methadone, and others who sell the pills to support their
heroin and cocaine habits. Virtually all the pill pushers use their own
products. These chaps sell everything, including narcotics like Percocet,
Vicodin, Codeine, and the array of tranquilizers like Valium, Xanax and Ativan.
The pill pushers are known by nicknames like Flaco, the Dominican, Big Slim,
and Hollywood.