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On March 29, 2009, Robert Stewart, 45, stormed into the Pinelake Health and Rehab nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina and opened fire, killing eight people and wounding two. Stewart’s apparent target was his estranged wife, who worked as a nurse in the home. She hid in a bathroom and was unharmed. Stewart was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder; if convicted, he could face the death penalty. Even though there was evidence that Stewart’s actions were premeditated (he allegedly had a target), Stewart’s defense team successfully argued that since he was under the influence of Ambien, a sleep aid, at the time of the shooting, he was not in control of his actions. Instead of the charges sought by the prosecutors, Stewart was convicted on eight counts of second-degree murder. He received 142 – 179 years in prison.
Ambien, a member of the class of medications known as hypnotics, was approved by the FDA in 1992. It was designed for short term use to combat insomnia and was a welcome change from the prevailing sleep aid at the time, Halcion, which had been implicated in psychosis, suicide, and addiction and had been banned in half a dozen countries. Ambien works by activating the neurotransmitter GABA and binding it to the GABA receptors in the same location as the benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium. The extra GABA activity triggered by the drug inhibits the neuron activity that is associated with insomnia. In other words, it slows down the brain. Ambien is extremely effective at initiating sleep, usually working within 20 minutes. It does not, however, have an effect on sustaining sleep unless it is taken in the controlled release form.
Ambien, a member of the class of medications known as hypnotics, was approved by the FDA in 1992. It was designed for short term use to combat insomnia and was a welcome change from the prevailing sleep aid at the time, Halcion, which had been implicated in psychosis, suicide, and addiction and had been banned in half a dozen countries. Ambien works by activating the neurotransmitter GABA and binding it to the GABA receptors in the same location as the benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Valium. The extra GABA activity triggered by the drug inhibits the neuron activity that is associated with insomnia. In other words, it slows down the brain. Ambien is extremely effective at initiating sleep, usually working within 20 minutes. It does not, however, have an effect on sustaining sleep unless it is taken in the controlled release form.
I can attest to this. When my mother was recently hospitalized they immediately started giving her xanax and ambien in order to sleep and in order to be more compliant with respect to some of her procedures. She had driven herself to the hospital on a Monday morning. She "woke up" from the drug induced stupor the doctors had put her in on Thursday evening, despite having no recollection of anything prior to the previous Saturday night. The lost time of Sunday and early Monday is probably due to a cardiac event, but the rest of it was clearly due to the drugs. Despite this, the doctors seemed to have absolutely no understanding of this potential effect of the drugs and were "discussing" with me the potential of skilled nursing scare and possible dementia. I had to research the drugs she was on and demand that they take her off all ambien and xanax, as well as narcotics. In 24 hours there was a remarkable change and she once again became oriented to time and place and was no longer "crazy".
My mother had taken an ambien one time in the prior weeks and significantly hallucinated, thereby causing her to fall. It's frightening how many people are prescribed these medications with no warning and no real followup as to the effects. In addition, there is no real education on the addictive nature of these medications (they are highly addictive).
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