In our service, detecting the presence of a benzo means we can tell you whether or not a benzo is present. What is the difference between detecting benzos and identifying benzos? While some folks seek out the additive effects of benzodiazepines and opioids, others are surprised to find benzos in their dope. The ongoing adulteration of the opioid supply, compounded with the high variability in concentrations, has been concerning for people who use opioids and those who support them. Naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, is also not active against benzos, though naloxone should still be given in the case of an overdose. The combination of benzos with opioids further complicates the overdose response due to the additive sedating effects of benzos. Opioids alone can lead to fatal respiratory depression in an overdose. Why are benzos in the opioid-down supply concerning?īenzodiazepines and related drugs are increasingly showing up in the opioid-down supply both in BC and across Canada. Benzos can be diverted from the pharmaceutical market or can be illicitly produced and bought in the community or from the dark web. The most common benzos detected at our service are etizolam, flualprazalom, and alprazolam. The benzo class includes many individual drugs, but only a subset are approved by Health Canada, including lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax). Recreationally, they may be used for their sedating and anti-anxiety effects and to ease the come down off of other drugs, like stimulants or psychedelics. Medically, they treat many conditions ranging from anxiety disorders to epilepsy.
What are benzodiazepines and where are they coming from?īenzodiazepines are a large class of drugs used both in medical and recreational contexts. Here we will try to answer some of these questions and describe some of the differences between using a test strip for benzos compared to the more common fentanyl test strips. and no wonder, our January Report shows that benzodiazepines and related drugs were detected in 50% of opioid down samples last month. We’ve been receiving a lot of questions lately about the use of benzodiazepine test strips at our service. 6 min read BTNX Fentanyl Immunoassay test strips used at our service.
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