HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday joined a coalition of 21 Attorneys General calling on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to take emergency action to schedule a drug linked to deaths in Pennsylvania and across the country.
In a letter to DEA Administrator Terry Cole, the coalition of Attorneys General sounded the alarm on bromazolam, a dangerous and unregulated designer drug often referred to as “designer Xanax.”
The synthetic drug is highly potent and unpredictable, especially when mixed with opioids. Also, Narcan is ineffective against the drug in overdose emergencies.
“Designer” benzodiazepines, such as bromazolam, emerged in the Commonwealth in 2022, when they contributed to 59 overdose deaths — with bromazolam most commonly found. That figure nearly tripled a year later, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
“It is a race to stay ahead of drug traffickers when dealing with synthetic drugs, and lives depend on immediate action that will give law enforcement the tools to proactively target traffickers,” Attorney General Sunday said. “This substance has no legitimate purpose, and is becoming far too common in Pennsylvania and across the nation.”
In the letter, the Attorneys General wrote: “Unlike regulated medications, illicitly manufactured bromazolam lacks any quality controls, making it particularly lethal for unsuspecting users.”
Some traffickers trying to sell bromazolam are incorrectly labeling the drug as legal prescription drugs or they may be compounding the bromazolam with other drugs, including but not limited to, fentanyl, other opioids, or methamphetamine.
Taking emergency action would help law enforcement remove bromazolam from circulation, give prosecutors the tools to hold traffickers accountable, and send a clear signal it has no place on the streets of America’s neighborhoods.
What You Need to Know:
- Bromazolam is a powerful benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines are prescribed for conditions like anxiety, insomnia, and seizures.
- Bromazolam is a highly potent and dangerous substance that poses significant health risks, particularly because it is often used without medical supervision. Public awareness and caution are essential to prevent its harmful effects.
- Dangers of Misusing Bromazolam: high risk of overdose, especially when combined with other central nervous system depressants like opioids or alcohol. It causes severe withdrawal symptoms and significant impairment in cognitive and motor functions, loss of coordination, amnesia, drowsiness and dizziness, blurred vision, slurred speech, respiratory depression, coma, and death.
- Narcan is ineffective against benzodiazepine overdoses. Narcan (naloxone) can reverse an opioid overdose but is ineffective against benzodiazepines like bromazolam. Emergency rooms may carry a reversal agent for benzodiazepines but the use of this reversal agent may come with significant risks.
Attorney General Sunday joined the Kentucky-led letter along with Attorneys General from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
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