I remember the time when you could get Valium or Xannax from pretty much every Pharmacy for about 5baht.
These days, there's no Valium to be found anywhere locally and one clinic open after 6pm that hands out Xannax for 20 baht a pill which I find a bit steep.
That said, the stuff is a Godsend when you've been up for 24hrs tearing your hair out with laptop problems trying to get a job done or those times when you're so 'overtired' your body has forgotten how to sleep.
I only get it when it's a desperate situation, when I am so tired my speech is slurred, eyes heavy, skin greasy and hot and I start developing a cold - in fact I've popped less than a dozen in my life.
Atarax and other 'don't operate machinery' antihistimines make you a bit drowsy but just aren't up to the job of providing a deep sleep when required.
So this brings me to ask - why are they so difficult to get, they're almost illegal for crying out loud. Sure they're addictive but so is Coca Cola and cigarettes and they does far more harm.
Even after the deep sleep, the after effect of Xannax is that it allows me to be mellow and 'chilled out' like most normal people.