Mandrax was a methaqualone formulation composed of 350 mg (i believe) of methaqualone base and a percentage of antihistamine - the antihistamine was said to potenciate the methaqualone. These came usually from the European countries principaly the U.K. until they were made illegal to manufacture. They were about the same strength as the Rohr or Lemon 714's of lore. The 714's contained 400 mg of methaqualone base. There were also capsules called Parrest which, I believe contained 450 mg of methaqualone salt. The Mandrax were fat X scored tablets that came in cellophane strips with blue writing on them. After they were all rendered illegal to manufacture, bootlegs came on the scene, they were usually crushed 714's with some binder that had them come in at around 300 mg per pill. Back then they were not cut with psychoactives - merely chalk or talc but soon were formulations of various "downers" such as valium. Around that time there was an influx of mexican pills which were extremely soft thin wafers vended in aluminum foil strips of 10 and contained either 100 or 150 mg of methaqualone.
Soon after the Mexicans appeared all sources began to dry up until finally one was lucky to find any pills with any reasonable amount of methaqualone at all and they soon passed into the realm of mythology. To many who survived the disco biscuit "lude" period they remain the holy grail of all euphorient drugs and there are many who hold to this day that the chemical was the most euphoric of all drugs bar none. They had the unique distinction of not only being intensely pleasurable but being one of the few genuine aphrodisiacs for women.
This characteristic was authentic and it was rare to find a woman who took a pill or a pill and a half that did not render the woman subject to any reasonably attractive man in the vicinity.
Of course they were highly dangerous on several fronts - they caused the user to lose standard motor skills to the point where I knew of two cases where people totaled their cars in rush hour traffic where the flow was less than 10 miles per hour. Doorways tended to shrink causing the user great difficulty in passing through those doorways. Many would wake up the next day with large bruises on their shoulders and hips where they failed to negotiate clear passage from one room to another. When mixed with alcohol the effects were intensified and many folks met an early demise with one too many sips of wine or even beer.
In many cases, where an experienced lude taker might be offered unlimited supplies of every drug imaginable or a small handful of authentic ludes, they would take the ludes without a second thought, forsaking the coke and the heroin and the pot and the LSD for a half a day of blissful stupidity.
