Posted on 02/09/2024 5:00:46 PM PST by nickcarraway
A dangerous designer drug is gaining popularity across the nation and simultaneously sparking a rise in overdose deaths.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is now sending out a warning about bromazolam, otherwise known as “fake Xanax.”
“There’s been a rapid and drastic increase in toxicology cases involving bromazolam,” Moody said.
Bromazolam is an extremely potent benzodiazepine, unapproved in the United States. While it’s often seen posing as Xanax, experts say it’s much stronger, making it much easier to overdose.
“The young people ordering it from social media, from drug dealers, and the risk of either getting fentanyl or worse, getting that which is three times more potent than Xanax is extremely high,” said Luis Garcia, a retired Boynton Beach firefighter and founder of USA Opioid Crisis Mortality Reduction. “If you’re taking three to take to get high, you're taking six pills, you're guaranteed to overdose very easily.”
According to the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, bromazolam went from being present in only 1% of toxicology cases submitted to the National Medical Services Labs in 2021 to 13% in 2022.
Like other illegal pressed pills, there's always a chance of it being cut with fentanyl.
“Drug users don't know what they're getting, and drug dealers don't care what they're putting in the illicit drug,” Garcia said.
However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bromazolam can be life-threatening by itself.
This month, the CDC released a case study out of Chicago that follows three young adults in their early twenties who overdosed on the drug.
The report said the trio was found unresponsive hours after taking what they thought was Xanax. It sent them into seizures. After several days in the ICU, two were released with neurological damage and hearing loss. The third remained in a coma.
Similar to Xanax, Narcan will not work if someone's overdosing on bromazolam. But it does work for fentanyl overdoses. Experts said if there's ever a situation where you aren't sure whether it will work or not, try it anyway.
“Drug users don’t know what they’re getting, and drug dealers don’t care what they’re putting in the illicit drug,” Garcia said.
One way or another Social Media is killing generations—the very kids we need for the future.
Xanax works well for persons with Sensory Processing {optical and audio} Disorders where anxiety is triggered due to an oversaturation of sensory impulses and the Inner Ear and associated portion of the brain can not process thinks quick enough and triggers sensory overload. Overload meaning anxiety attacks and in extreme cases like me Myoclonic Seizures.
I've taken legit prescribed Xanax at .5 mg 4X a day since 1995 and it allows me to avoid brain fog and lessens seizures. Thanks to the War On Drugs or I should say War On Prescribed users the ability to get the life long needed medication has become a royal pain. One prescription once a month refillable on the 30th day. Mandatory drug testing by doctors several times a year. Besides regular primary care visits to my factor I see their controlled substance NA every 3 months for a proven and incurable disorder I've had since 1994 actually longer. However Xanax and now this new extreme high risk drug are high dollar black market for recreational use. Xanax is in the same cllass as Valium and Librium.
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