Diazepam Boom Threatens More Drug Deaths, Say Experts

[Gaz_hmmmm]

Diazepam boom threatens more drug deaths, say experts

Amateur laboratories producing class C drug in response to rising demand from a young generation unaware of its dangers

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Jamie Doward
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 30 June 2012 19.29 BST

The illicit trade in diazepam is now a significant factor behind many drug-related deaths, experts have warned. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian



Addiction experts are warning that a ballooning illicit trade in a tranquilliser popularly known as "mother's little helper" is now a significant factor behind many drug-related deaths. They say diazepam, once prescribed to anxious housewives in the 1970s and better known by its former brand name of Valium, is being used recreationally by a younger generation unaware of its potentially lethal side-effects.

Police suspect that a plethora of amateur laboratories are manufacturing the controlled class C drug in response to growing demand from users who often combine it with other substances. The drug and alcohol treatment charity Addaction fears that the scale of the problem is becoming a major problem for health services and has called for doctors and pharmacists to be better informed about the dangers of the drug.

Addaction said people once misused diazepam that had been diverted from prescriptions or stolen from pharmacies, but in the last five years there had been an increase in the amount of diazepam bought from online pharmacies outside the EU, mainly in India or Pakistan. With diazepam tablets selling for as little as 50p, the drug – a form of benzodiazepine known by users as "benzos" – offers a cheap alternative to most other drugs. In addition, a counterfeit trade appears to be emanating from Scotland, where police have unearthed a number of amateur laboratories creating illegal versions of the drug. "It's a relatively new phenomenon, but we suspect that there are ongoing diazepam production operations going on up and down the country," said Kenny Simpson of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.

The rise in popularity of diazepam may be part of a wider trend in drug abuse, according to experts. Some drug counsellors suspect that the falling numbers of heroin users is partly down to addicts switching to diazepam, which is prescribed to alleviate stress and tension. Many abusers like to mix diazepam with alcohol, with users reporting online that it helps "sedate" them for whole days.

Official figures show that diazepam misuse in Scotland last year came second only to heroin. But the true scale of the problem remains opaque as the number of benzodiazepine seizures are not recorded separately from those of other class C drugs. "The drug trend picture shows an increase in the availability of illicit diazepam, coupled with low prices and the prevalence of 'poly' drug use, creating potential for an increase in fatal overdoses," Kenny Simpson of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency warned.

The counterfeit trade appears to be sophisticated: Diazepam tablets being sold illicitly often bear a variety of genuine manufacturers' logos. But experts said it was difficult to gauge whether the drugs were genuine or fake.

"We are hearing numerous reports of tablets with these names stamped across them," said Gareth Balmer from Addaction's service in Dundee. "It could well be the case that some, or even all, are counterfeits and contain varying doses of diazepam. Counterfeiting causes a range of problems, not least because the user does not know what drug it is they are taking, how strong it is and how their body will react to it."

Experts have detected what they say is an alarming rise in cases of "super-dosing", where people take vast quantities of diazepam that far exceed a "prescribed" dose and can result in violent, sometimes fatal, seizures. Addaction reports that one man in his 30s approached them for help saying he had ingested 500mg of the drug, as much as 100 times a normal dose.

Balmer warned: that there could be major consequences for drug treatment if the problem went unchecked. "Diazepam is a very difficult drug to treat. It is behind many drug-related deaths. I believe it's been involved in every single death we've seen in 2012."

Source :- The Guardian (A UK Newspaper) http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/01/diazepam-boom-threatens-more-drug-deaths?mobile-redirect=false

If there really are diazepam lab's starting up in Scotland it seems odd to me, the chem's to make methamp' are easily available here to make and wouldn't the Bentley/Fentanyl deriatives be easier/cheaper to make than diazepam? Especially since it's Heroin people are wanting, not diazepam!?!?

 

[maxalfie]

Not sure about labs over here making the pills but certainly a lot come over from Pakistan.
What they should be asking is why do a generation want to numb themselves to their daily lives?

 

[THC2LSD]

Experts have detected what they say is an alarming rise in cases of "super-dosing", where people take vast quantities of diazepam that far exceed a "prescribed" dose and can result in violent, sometimes fatal, seizures.

Diazepam doesn't cause seizures itself, it's used to treat them. An OD would cause you to blackout, pass out, maybe stop breathing, but not seizures. It's the withdraw that causes seizures.

Counterfeit benzos aren't new. Counterfeit Valium, Rohypnol, Ermin, and Normison have often turned up for awhile. "Quaaludes" are often really diazepam. Ermins nitrazepam. Don't think the actives are usually made clandestinely, except sometimes temazepam. Think it's from bulk powder from China/India.

I think the labs are really pill pressers getting bulk powder from China. Why make a hard to make drug like diazepam when you could get it from a country it's less controlled? If you're going to make benzos make something better than diazepam to be worth the trouble. Methaqualone is way easier to make than benzos. Even barbiturates are easier.

 

[ro4eva]

Don't know what to believe but I was reading recently that some of the black market diazepam coming in from the middle east is actually phenazepam. So I guess my point being that if you're buying what looks like typical generic diazepam from where ever you buy from, just keep in mind that there's a chance it could be phenazepam (and apparently it can make you black out for days, especially if you're benzo naive). That being said, ODing solely on a benzo should not carry the same risk of death as - for example - a strong barb. Not even close.

Experts have detected what they say is an alarming rise in cases of "super-dosing", where people take vast quantities of diazepam that far exceed a "prescribed" dose and can result in violent, sometimes fatal, seizures.

How exactly would one of the strongest anticonvulsants in the benzodiazepine class of drugs - with one of the longest half-lives - cause violent, sometimes fatal, seizures?

 

[opi8]

You've gotta love uneducated, bias, demonizing reports of legal, and very medically valuable drugs in the media. It means we're all about to get a lot more relaxed drug laws worldwide. Yeah right.

 

[kokaino]

The only benzo I have heard of being manufactured illicitly was temazepam due to a high demand for the drug. The temazepam craze actually began in Scotland (like the article is stating about diazepam now) then it engulfed all of the UK and Ireland and then hit continental Europe. Australia and Asia got into it too. I think the laboratories the article is referring to is the ones that were producing temazepam. They busted one in Slovakia I think a while back.

But this is all BS, IMO. There is no obvious evidence of any sort of epidemic or deaths (back in the 80's and up until the mid 90's, it was very obvious with temazepam). But I don't see anything of that sort right now.

 

[Serotonin101]

Methaqualone is way easier to make than benzos.

Got any 'ludes maaaaaaaan?
Seriously though. I think people would be wasting time and resources "manufacturing" illicit diazepam. I agree it's probably people buying bulk powder and pressing it. Cheaper, and scales the prices better. I wanna see ludes and barbs again, I personally find benzos less recreational anyways.