Quaaludes

A plot point in The Wolf of Wall Street centers around the rarity of Quaaludes, a prized but highly illegal drug with the power to make you feel both chill and invincible at the same time.  After taking Quaaludes, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character spends what seems like a lovely night out and arrives home safely, but once the effects of the drug have worn off, he realizes that he made a fool of himself while out and wrecked his car on the way home.  A recent case in Palm Beach County suggests that Quaaludes are neither as incapacitating nor as scarce as Scorsese’s artistic license makes them seem.  You can probably find Quaaludes if you look for them, but if you do, you might end up facing similar legal consequences as if you had scored heroin, and if that happens, you will need a Florida drug offenses attorney.

Legal Status of Quaaludes

Methaqualone, a sedative, was once widely prescribed as a sleeping pill.  It was sold under the brand names Quaalude, Sopor, and Mandrax, with Quaalude being the most common brand name in the United States.  Quaaludes were a popular recreational drug, especially on the disco scene, leading to the nickname “disco biscuits.”  Because of its abuse potential and because of the availability of safer sleeping pills, the U.S. outlawed Quaaludes in 1983 and rescheduled them as a Schedule I controlled substance in 1984.

Florida Woman’s 50-Year Quaalude Addiction Ends in Probation Sentence

Between 2012 and 2021, Linda Horn received shipments of methaqualone by mail, picking them up from a post office in Palm Beach County and selling them to members of her peer group while keeping a sizable number of them for herself.  Horn became addicted to methaqualone in the 1970s when she was in college.  She continued to use them throughout the disco era and after they became illegal.  The only times she did not take them were during her pregnancies.

Horn had never planned to sell illegal drugs, but she fell into the role after the acquaintance from whom she used to buy the drugs died.  Soon, she was in contact with dealers in Jamaica, Portugal, and Cameroon.  Over a decade, she made $1.3 million from the sale of the drugs, an amount that would be impressive anywhere in Florida except Palm Beach County.

The Department of Homeland Security began investigating the illegal methaqualone trade in Palm Beach County and eventually tracked a shipment of the drug to Horn’s address.  Horn, 70, was charged with drug trafficking.  She pleaded guilty, and she asked the judge to be lenient and to consider Horn’s caregiving obligations to elderly family members, namely her husband and her mother.  The judge sentenced her to three years of probation.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for the sale of a Schedule I controlled substance.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/20/70-year-old-florida-woman-sentenced-quaalude-dealer/70910102007/