
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are prescription drugs used to treat anxiety. ‘Street benzos’ are illicit drugs that are similar but can be far more dangerous.
Also called:
- Alprazolam
- Benzos
- Blues
- Diazepam
- Downers
- Etizolam
- Rohypnol
- Roofies
- Temazepam
- Valium
- Vallies
- Xanax
Quick info
How the drug works varies from person to person
- How you might feel
- Sleepy, relaxed, calm and or confused, and disorientated.
- Read more about how it feels
- Effects on your body
- Could make you unsteady on your feet, have slower reflexes.
- Read more about how it feels
- How long it takes to work
- Depending on the type of benzo, takes around 30 mins.
- Read more about how long it takes to work
- How long the effects last
- Around 1-4 hours depending on type of benzo taken.
- Read more about how long the effects last
- Common risks
- Taking benzos can make you drowsy, dizzy and sometimes aggressive. Taking benzos with alcohol is dangerous because this is two sedatives actively mixing together.
- Read more about the risks
- Mixing drugs
- Mixing drugs is always risky but some mixtures are more dangerous than others.
- Read more about mixing with other drugs
What does it look like?
They come as tablets, capsules or injections; and come in a wide variety of colours.
Commonly available street benzos include alprazolam (Xanax), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), diazepam (Valium), temazepam and phenazepam.
Flubromazolam and etizolam are newer benzodiazepine analogues which are chemically very similar to benzodiazepines and can be dangerously high in potency.
Benzodiazepines can be prescribed medicines, which may have been transferred away from the person who was prescribed them, or illicit or fake products. The benzodiazepines (and other drugs) in illicit or fake products and their dose vary between samples.
They often come in blister packs, which can make them look legitimate and safe but they are not. The tablets are usually sold as diazepam (Valium) or alprazolam (Xanax) but don’t often contain any of the drug they are sold as. Instead they might contain other dangerous benzodiazepines, their analogues or other chemicals.
The tablets currently causing concern and harm are known as and/or marked with ‘DAN 5620’ (on one side) and ‘10’ (on the other), ‘T-20’, ‘TEM 20’, ‘Bensedin’ and ‘MSJ’.
All of this means that people who use benzodiazepines will often be taking a much more potent and more dangerous drug than they think they are, or the tablet’s markings might suggest.
Benzodiazepines come as tablets, capsules or suppositories (tablets inserted up the bum).
Some people crush tablets to inject them. This is extremely dangerous and can lead to skin infections and abscesses and rapid, potentially fatal, overdose.
How does it make you feel?
Benzodiazepines are prescribed to treat anxiety and severe insomnia. They depress the nervous system and slow the brain and body down.
Benzodiazepines are often used as chill-out drugs after parties, to help people sleep after taking stimulants. Some people use them to help come down off acid, cocaine, speed or ecstasy after a big night out.
Physical health risks
Physical health risks
Here’s what benzodiazepines can do to you: It is dangerous to take benzodiazepines with alcohol and/or other drugs. Alcohol and some drugs depress the central nervous system, which affects your breathing. The drugs that do this include benzodiazepines, heroin and other opioids, pregabalin and gabapentin.
This means that using any combination of these types of drugs with or without alcohol increases the risk of overdose and death.
People who use a lot of benzodiazepines can experience bad withdrawal symptoms, which can include tremors, nausea, vomiting, headaches, anxiety, panic attacks and depression. People going through these withdrawal symptoms might experience fits.
There are concerns that benzodiazepines have been used in sex crimes, where a victim’s drink is spiked with a benzodiazepine, for example flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), making them very drowsy or knocking them out so they’re either unaware of, or unable to, prevent a sexual assault.
Street benzos are unpredictable in content and in potency and are causing people to be hospitalised in the UK and in some cases to die.
If you have decided you are going to take street benzos or any other drug, make sure:
- someone is around when you take them (if you overdose alone nobody can help you)
- be extra cautious about the sources from which you get your drugs, and about the drugs you take
- try a small amount (half a pill) of it first and wait at least an hour to see what the effect is before considering taking any more
Mental health risks
Mental health risks
- Benzodiazepine use can negatively affect your mental health and may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts particularly in young adults and those who are alcohol or opioid dependent.
- Some have been shown to cause short-term memory loss and big doses can make a user forgetful and overly sleepy.
- They can be highly addictive, and so are mainly recommended only for short-term use in medicine.
What is benzodiazepines cut with?
Some of the currently available street benzos are stolen from a hospital or pharmacy or from people who were prescribed them.
Other street benzos are made illegally and often contain more dangerously potent substances than are displayed on the packaging.
You cannot normally be sure of the purity unless you have been prescribed the drug.
Is it dangerous to mix with other drugs?
Mixing drugs is always risky but some mixtures are more dangerous than others.
What happens if I mix Benzodiazepines and
Can you get addicted?
Benzodiazepines can cause psychological and physical addiction and, because tolerance increases over time, users may have to keep increasing their dose either to get the same hit, or just to maintain the initial positive medical effect on their anxiety or insomnia.
It is because of the risk of dependence (and because they don’t work as well long-term) that benzodiazepines are normally recommended to be only used for short periods of time and only for severe cases.
Withdrawal can cause unpleasant symptoms like a pounding headache, nausea, anxiety and confusion. Some people report having withdrawal symptoms after using benzodiazepines for a relatively short time (for example, a few weeks).
If you or a friend has a problem with benzodiazepines and want to stop using, you should talk to your GP for help and support.
Class: C
This is a Class C drug, which means it's illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.
Possession can get you up to 2 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Like drink-driving, driving when high is dangerous and illegal. If you’re caught driving under the influence, you may receive a heavy fine, driving ban, or prison sentence.
If the police catch people supplying illegal drugs in a home, club, bar or hostel, they can potentially prosecute the landlord, club owner or any other person concerned in the management of the premises.
Additional law details
- This is a Class C drug, which means it’s illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell.
- Possession can get you up to 2 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
- Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
Like drink-driving, driving when high is dangerous and illegal. If you’re caught driving under the influence, you may receive a heavy fine, driving ban, or prison sentence.
If the police catch people supplying illegal drugs in a home, club, bar or hostel, they can potentially prosecute the landlord, club owner or any other person concerned in the management of the premises.
Was this information useful?
Concerned about...
Help and advice
What to do in an emergency
If you or someone else needs urgent help after taking drugs or drinking, call 999 for an ambulance. Tell the crew everything you know. It could save their life.
What else to do in an emergency