Carisoprodols effect profile did indeed turn out to differ significantly with respect to meprobamate, with carisoprodol possessing stronger muscle relaxant and analgesic effects. Usage and legal status
Norway
Reports from Norway have shown carisoprodol has addictive potential as a prodrug of meprobamate and/or potentiator of hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and similar drugs. In May 2008 it was taken off the market in Norway. European Union
In the EU, the European Medicines Agency issued a release recommending member states suspend marketing authorization for this product in the treatment of acute (not chronic) back pain.As of November 2007, carisoprodol has been taken off the market in Sweden due to problems with dependence and side effects. The agency overseeing pharmaceuticals considered other drugs used with the same indications as carisoprodol to have the same or better effects without the risks of the drug. United States
Until 12 December 2011, when the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued the final ruling placing the substance carisoprodol into Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), carisoprodol was not a controlled substance. The placement of carisoprodol into Schedule IV was effective 11 January 2012.Carisoprodol is available generically as 350 mg and, more recently, 250 mg tablets. Compounded tablets with acetaminophen and codeine are also available. Canada
Federally, carisoprodol is a prescription drug (Schedule I, sub-schedule F1). Provincial regulations vary. It is no longer readily available. Indonesia
In September 2013, carisoprodol was taken off the market due to problems with diversion, dependence and side effects.
As mentioned above, carisoprodol appears to have strong anxiolytic effects on its own; however, a large part of its effects also come from the fact that it is metabolized into meprobamate: at least a 25% of the carisoprodol administered will be transformed into meprobamate which means that meprobamate is 3.25× stronger than carisoprodol (although this rate varies from person to person according to their levels of CYP2C19 enzymes in their livers with some people having considerably higher levels) or, in other words, 200 mg of meprobamate (which is the lowest standard dose) is equivalent to 650 mg of carisoprodol. As such, meprobamate is believed to play a significant role in the effects of carisoprodol and meprobamates long half-life results in bioaccumulation following extended periods of carisoprodol administration. It is slightly soluble in water and freely soluble in ethanol, chloroform and acetone. The drugs solubility is practically independent of pH. History
On 1 June 1959, several American pharmacologists convened at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan to discuss a newly discovered structural analogue of meprobamate. The substitution of one hydrogen atom with an isopropyl group on one of the carbamyl nitrogens was intended to yield a drug with new pharmacological properties. It had been developed by Frank Berger at Wallace Laboratories and was named carisoprodol.Building on meprobamates pharmacological effects, carisoprodol was intended to have better muscle relaxing properties, less potential for addiction, and a lower risk of overdose.