Frequently (and not so frequently) Asked Questions
BRIEF: Could Niacin be used in some drug-related way?
QUESTION:
I recently found a bottle of 100mg Niacin tablets in my teenage daughter's
backpack. Is there a possibility this vitamin is being used in some drug-related
way?
ANSWER:
You caught me at home, without my library, but niacin is a pretty well-
characterized nutrient/drug.
The primary legitimate drug use for niacin is to lower blood cholesterol. Massive
doses are used and it works. Unfortunately, there are unpleasant side effects at
the higher doses - rashes, flushing, etc., but nothing that would be of any
recreational value.
Otherwise, people use niacin pills just as a vitamin
supplement.
And I suppose kids might decide the side effects represent some kind of desirable
rush, but I can't see how it would be
fun.
That is the good
news.
The bad news is that there are a lot of quacks out there suggesting niacin and
hosts of other less innocuous things for "natural" cures for all sorts of
maladies, real or imagined. Niacin has been pushed in life-extending mixtures,
as an anti-adiction agent and prescribed for a whole bunch of other crackpot
reasons. Also, do you remember when we were kids LSD was distributed on
sugar cubes or (assuming you are younger than I) on postage stamps? Well, if one
wanted to fret about a long shot, then one could speculate the same could be done
with a drop on a vitamin pill.
Ask your daughter if she thinks that YOU should start taking a lot of niacin.
Then ask her why. Then ask her if she is taking some. Since you have been
inspecting her backpack, I guess you are worried about what she is up to
lately.
When I get back to my office, I will check and see if there is anything else we
should worry
about.
Taking the niacin may not be a conern, but the reason she is taking it is. Find
out. Ask.