Push for prohibition of 'designer Xanax,' an unsupervised synthetic drug, associated with 47 fatalities in the state
In a letter dated Aug. 5, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has urged the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to take immediate action and schedule the synthetic drug bromazolam, also known as "designer Xanax." This potent and unpredictable substance, linked to numerous overdose deaths, is being passed off as prescription pills and sold illicitly on the streets and online.
Coleman's letter to Kentucky Health Secretary Steve Stack emphasizes the urgency of the situation, stating that the action could have an immediate and lifesaving impact on Kentuckians across the state. The attorney general is also working to get the drug scheduled at the federal level.
The Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, has already confiscated a package containing 958 pills that were later confirmed to be bromazolam. In Kentucky alone, the Office of Drug Control Policy reported 47 overdose deaths in 2024 involving bromazolam.
Bromazolam is highly potent and unpredictable, especially when combined with opioids or other central nervous system depressants. Unlike regulated medications, illicitly manufactured bromazolam lacks any quality controls, making it particularly lethal for unsuspecting users. Overdose risks are heightened especially when bromazolam is combined with other depressants like fentanyl or alcohol.
The impact on public health is severe: bromazolam overdoses are challenging to treat because naloxone (Narcan), effective against opioids, does not reverse benzodiazepine overdoses. Symptoms include severe cognitive impairment, loss of coordination, respiratory depression, coma, and death.
The requested federal emergency scheduling would enable law enforcement to remove bromazolam from circulation more effectively, provide prosecutors stronger tools to hold traffickers accountable, and send a clear public health signal that this dangerous substance is illegal and has no legitimate place in society.
Some states, including Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia, have already scheduled bromazolam independently. However, the absence of a federal scheduling leaves a regulatory gap that hinders nation-wide interdiction and heightens public health risks.
Coleman wrote, "By using your authority to schedule bromazolam through emergency action, we can immediately empower law enforcement to crack down on the traffickers and distributors of this deadly drug."
As parents and public officials, we must do all we can to stop illicit drugs and counterfeit pills. The threat is clear, and all of us must work together to keep these drugs off our streets to save Kentuckians' lives.
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