@notsmokeymcpot42088 - As I stated, all of those conversion charts I've seen are based on equipotency over 24 hours. Even then, it's generally only when a patient has been given one benzodiazepine for a while so that a steady plasma level has been reached. Even if a drug has a half-life of 12 hours, it will still slowly accumulate for weeks if taken daily.
Obviously ROA makes a huge difference and I'm not entirely convinced that plasma levels are an accurate guide. I think all benzodiazepines tend to concentrate in the brain, are then redistributed to all fatty tissue within the body and are sometimes metabolised (some having active metabolites) before final excretion. So the duration of action and plasma half-life can differ a lot.
Don't forget that 1,4-benzodiazepines all potentially bind to four receptor subtypes - a1,a3,a4 and a5 and the subjective effects differ depending on which one(s) they fabour. Nitrobenzodiazepines mostly demonstrate high affinity for the a1 subunit (as do the Z-drugs) so subjectively, most people consider them more potent.
Most people I've met consider 5mg of nitrazepam as potent as 10mg of diazepam. Now long ago I recgonized that ANYTHING that targets the a1 subunit screwed with my judgement so I avoid them even at low doses. But given just how complex their action and how each person's subjective effects will differ, I've always been suspicious of a table being of much value. I mean, if a patient/client has been taking 100mg of temazepam/day for months, yes, obviously I would use the table for a rough guide but RESPONSE would be of more value in that situation.
It can take a LONG time for a client to detoxify from a benzodiazepine and then all benzodiazepines seem to produce a 'kindling' effect i.e. even after years, brain-chemistry remains altered so in some people dependence returns pretty fast. Or, possibly, tolernce never truly disappears so the person who restarts using benzodiazepines goes back to the higher doses they used to get the sought subjective effects.
Whatever the case - a person who has been dependant on a bendoziazepine (even when legitimately prescribed) is at a higher risk of becomeing dependent again.
To be fair, they are a lot safer than the drugs they replace but equally, we are now discovering that after about 8 weeks, some people might never be able to safely detoxify and as I've said, benzos are MOST dangerous when a dependent user suddently has no access to them. That's when fatal seizures DO occur.
I think that's one aspect of the 'mystery powder game' most users don't consider.
