Background1
World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day is observed on July 11th every year. This day is to raise awareness and educate the public about the dangers of long-term use of benzodiazepines. Frequently prescribed for mental health conditions like anxiety, insomnia, and seizures, benzodiazepines are psychoactive drugs. While they may seem harmless, they are easy to overdose on when used with other medication or alcohol. The primary concern with benzodiazepines is the severe physical dependency cultivated due to prolonged prescriptions, and this is what the World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day seeks to address.
What are Benzodiazepines2
Benzodiazepines are depressants that produce sedation and hypnosis, relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, and reduce seizures.
The most common benzodiazepines are the prescription drugs Valium®, Xanax®, Halcion®, Ativan®, and Klonopin®. Shorter-acting benzodiazepines used to manage insomnia include estazolam (ProSom®), flurazepam (Dalmane®), temazepam (Restoril®), and triazolam (Halcion®). Midazolam (Versed®), a short-acting benzodiazepine, is utilized for sedation, anxiety, and amnesia in critical care settings and prior to anesthesia.
History of International Day Against Drug Abuse1
World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day is on July 11th across the world. This annual observance serves to give awareness and educate the general public about the dangers of benzodiazepines when used over long periods.
On their own, when prescribed for a short term, benzodiazepines can improve symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and seizures. However, when these drugs are used for longer than two to four weeks or with other medication or alcohol, they can have detrimental effects, including overdose.
Long-term usage of benzodiazepines can affect individuals with anxiety and agitation, making their symptoms worse over time rather than improving them. Using these drugs for longer than four weeks can also worsen feelings of suicide ideation and depression in individuals already experiencing these mental health issues.
Benzodiazepine drugs long-term result in dependency, even when used at low dosages. Ordinary, everyday people become unknowingly dependent on benzodiazepines after long-term prescriptions. The World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day or W-BAD was initiated by activists who survived benzodiazepine injury and wanted to bring awareness to the dangers of this drug and the growing problem of people developing a dependence on the drug unknowingly.
The day also encourages medical practitioners to follow basic principles when prescribing benzodiazepines to ensure patients know the side effects and dangers of long-term use. These principles encourage doctors to support patients who are long-term users of the drug to prevent injury and wean them off the benzodiazepines onto safer medication.
Benzodiazepine Facts2
Access: Benzodiazepines are only legally available by prescription in the United States. They are Schedule IV depressants under the Controlled Substance Act. Many users maintain their supply by getting prescriptions from several doctors, by forging prescriptions, or by buying them illicitly. Alprazolam and clonazepam are the two most frequently encountered benzodiazepines on the illicit market.
How are they used: Misuse is frequently associated with adolescents and young adults who take the drug orally or crush it up and snort it to get high. Misuse is particularly high among heroin and cocaine users. Additionally, opioid users often co-use benzodiazepines to enhance euphoria.
Effect on the Mind: Benzodiazepines are associated with amnesia, hostility, irritability, and vivid or disturbing dreams.
Effect on the Body: Benzodiazepines slow down the central nervous system and may cause sleepiness and relaxed mood.
Overdose Effects: Effects of overdose can include extreme drowsiness, confusion, impaired coordination, decreased reflexes, respiratory depression, coma, and possible death. Overdose effects of concomitant use of benzodiazepines and opioids include profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death.
Community Engagement Suggestions1
Here are some suggestions for how to raise awareness and celebrate World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day:
- Share Information about these drugs. The focus of World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day is to gather and share information about the effects of these drugs with your friends, family, and community.
- Spread stories of how people overcame their addiction to benzodiazepines.
- Attend an event to show support for people within your community that help those with benzodiazepine addictions.
DTPM Solutions
DTPM’s mission is to help fight alcohol and drug use and dependency. We offer alcohol and drug testing solutions to a variety of testing facilities such as drug courts, treatment centers, physician office labs, reference labs and more. General testing supplies such as gloves, lint-free wipes and pipette tips are also available.