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Showing posts from June, 2018

Benzodiazepines: the new drug crisis?

While our country faces the harsh realities of the opioid epidemic, benzodiazepines are also emerging as popular drugs of abuse. Bloomberg dubbed benzodiazepines, sometimes called “benzos,” as American’s next big drug problem, citing that prescriptions have increased nearly 70% this century. Last month, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported that more than 30% of opioid overdoses also involve benzodiazepines. These drugs are not opioids. Doctors prescribe benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin to treat anxiety, seizures, and insomnia. If taken over time, people can develop a tolerance to these sedatives, introducing the potential for symptoms like panic attacks to worsen, The Chicago Tribune. Benzodiazepine prescriptions have been steadily climbing over the past 2 decades. Dr. Anna Lembke, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with the Stanford University School of Medicine, is studying the relationship between prescription drugs and addicti