There is a long list of benzodiazepine drugs out there, but all of them have the potential for abuse. A half-life measures how long a drug takes to break down and exit the body. Low-potency benzos with a long half-life are weaker than high-potency benzos with a short half-life. Drugs with a shorter half-life, while more short-acting, are often felt more intensely.
Drugs with short half-life also create their effect more rapidly. These characteristics make these substances more attractive to recreational drug abusers. Benzodiazepine drug abusers often prefer short-acting, high-potency benzos, such as lorazepam or alprazolam, due to their fairly rapid and intense high. Though not prescribed in the United States, flunitrazepam Rohypnol is sold illicitly on the streets.
Used as a date rape drug, Rohypnol is a high-potency benzodiazepine with a relatively long half-life. Benzodiazepine medications are sedative-hypnotics, meaning they create calming or tranquilizing effects. Because of this, these drugs are prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia, panic and seizure disorders, and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
Certain ones may also be used as muscle relaxants. The same actions which make these medications valuable within treatment also make them enticing to drug abusers. Benzodiazepines take several forms, including as an extended-release long-acting capsule, liquid, tablet, or orally-disintegrating tablet. Any of these forms may be abused to create a sedated effect or euphoria.
When abused, benzodiazepines are taken orally in doses larger and more frequent than would be prescribed. The medication may also be crushed so that it can be snorted, smoked, or injected. In recent years, rates of Benzodiazepine abuse have sharply increased. Compared to opioids like Oxycodone and Heroin , many people believe Xanax is a safer alternative with similar effects. While Opioid misuse among teens has declined since , Benzodiazepine abuse is surging. Among people between the ages of 21 and 34, In , twice as many women had active Xanax prescriptions as men, putting them at greater risk of developing a physical dependence and chemical addiction.
The resulting effects include feeling more relaxed and sleepier. Xanax doses are available in 0. Prolonged use of high doses is not recommended due to potential for tolerance and dependency. The short-term effects of snorting Xanax are essentially the same as taking the pill orally.
Though effects may kick in more quickly and, initially, more potently when crushing Xanax — and removing certain dosage extended-release coating — length-of-effect is more or less similar to normal abuse of the pill e.
Learn More. Xanax is the most-commonly prescribed psychiatric medication in the U. Americans received nearly 50 million alprazolam prescription in The strongest effects from Xanax, taken normally, usually last between two to four hours higher doses and extended-release formulas can last longer. Effects generally peak one to two hours after taking it. However, repeated abuse will reduce the level of effect the drug has on the body because the body has developed a tolerance.
Boca Raton, FL. View Center. Edwards, CO. When someone abuses Xanax for a long time, they may experience side effects like:. In a relatively short period of time, the body can become acclimated to the effects of Xanax — meaning an individual will need to take continually-increasing amounts to get the same effects. For people who have taken Xanax for a month or for those who have snorted it repeatedly, they may need to taper off the medication to prevent potentially life-threatening symptoms of Benzo withdrawal.
Make a Call Numerous people have reported symptoms like insomnia, severe anxiety, and seizures. Snorting Xanax repeatedly can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as:. Because Benzodiazepine withdrawal can be potentially fatal, medically-supervised detox followed by rehab is strongly recommended. Though the FDA has yet to approve any addiction treatment medications for Xanax withdrawal other than tapering with a longer-acting Benzodiazepine, medically-trained staff are best able to provide a safe and trigger-free environment for recovery.
Specifically, if emergency medical situations arise such as onset of seizures or panic attacks , detox facilities ensure their patients receive all necessary medical care as soon as possible. As a result, Xanax detox programs give people in recovery the greatest chance of successfully completing detox and rehab by reducing painful and potentially fatal withdrawal symptoms. Between and , the number of people entering addiction treatment for Benzo addiction nearly tripled.
Additionally, people who snort Xanax today may be inhaling more than just alprazolam. Often, drug trafficking organizations manufacture fake Xanax, combining a host of additives, including powerful and dangerous drugs like Fentanyl.
Consequently, many people who thought they were crushing and snorting a tablet of pure Benzodiazepines only learned what was really in their counterfeit pills after they had a negative reaction.
Subsequently, overdose has caused Xanax to become one of the most commonly identified substances in emergency room visits where the individual was abusing two or more substances including alcohol.
Moreover, people who have snorted or taken fake Xanax have suffered heart attacks, heart failure, nerve damage, and fatal overdose when one batch of fake Xanax in San Francisco contained Fentanyl, leading to at least one death in a weekend.
Crushing and snorting Xanax is a clear sign of Benzodiazepine abuse and may require treatment to wean the individual off of Benzos. According to Scientific American, both alcohol and Xanax are cleared from the body by the same liver enzymes. Because both drugs are broken down by the same compounds, it takes longer for the body to detoxify itself after you take Xanax and alcohol together.
This means that these substances remain in your system longer. Xanax augments the effects of alcohol, and vice versa. As a result, your risk of excessive sedation, dangerous accidents, respiratory depression, cardiac problems, and loss of consciousness increases exponentially. If you continue to abuse Xanax and alcohol together, you could have serious cognitive and psychological consequences. Memory problems, depression, sleeplessness and agitation are a few of the long-term consequences of combining Xanax with alcohol.
In addition, you raise the chances of becoming addicted to both drugs if you take them at the same time. When you think about recovering from polydrug abuse, the future might seem overwhelming.
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