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

Important

Illicit or fake benzodiazepines (often called “street benzos”) have been found to contain some very harmful substances and are causing hospitalisations and deaths in the UK. This includes tablets known as and/or marked with ‘DAN 5620’ (on one side) and ‘10’ (on the other), ‘T-20’, ‘TEM 20’, ‘Bensedin’ and ‘MSJ’, which may contain dangerously potent benzodiazepines, or other dangerous substances not for medical use.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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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

Benzodiazepines

Important

Quick info

How it looks, tastes and smells

How do people take it?

How it feels

The risks

Addiction

The law

What to do in an emergency