Celeste (my lovely wife) hates ingesting anything that makes her feel like she’s losing control.  She doesn’t mind the occassional drink, but she rarely gets drunk because she hates losing control.  Her parents never had to worry about her taking drugs because she wouldn’t have been able to handle the feeling of getting stoned.  Hell, I’ve seen her almost hyperventilate when she’s smelled someone smoking weed.

On the other hand Celeste is like most other women who have hit their 40s, have young teenagers and a pain-in-the-butt, no-good husband who snores like a bear in hibernation: she has a heckuva time sleeping.  Every once in a while she’ll take a mild over the counter sleeping aid, but I can almost guarantee you that she’ll endure massive sleep deprivation before she’ll take zolpidem, which in the US is known as Ambien and in Australia is known as Stilnox.  Apparently there have been some pretty interesting side effects reported in Australia:

A woman taking the drug "woke with a paintbrush in her hand after
painting the front door while asleep," the Adverse Drug Reactions
Advisory Committee said in a bulletin published yesterday.

Another patient reportedly gained 23 kilograms over seven months while taking Stilnox.

"It was only when she was discovered eating in front of an open
refrigerator while asleep that the problem was resolved," the bulletin
said.

The committee also received two alarming reports "which suggest the possibility of driving while asleep."

The new study marks the first time "inappropriate or strange automatic
behaviour" related to Stilnox has been noted in Australia since the
drug was introduced here in 2000, although cases have been reported
overseas.

The health department also received 104 reports of hallucinations and 62 of amnesia relating to the drug.

Found via Boing Boing.