Despite the fact that countless doctors and government officials are still struggling to put an end to the deadly opioid epidemic that has ravaged the U.S., physicians are dispatching a red alert on a different drug class that (according to their reports) is prescribed far too frequently for safety: anti-anxiety medications. As the opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc, these seemingly common meds are instigating a chain of deadly overdoses on their own account. Over the past 15 years, benzodiazepines (including drugs like Xanax and Klonopin) have been dispatched (simply put) like candy to patients, following in the path of the opioid trend that caused this epidemic decades ago. So, how bad is this benzo epidemic, so to speak? Let’s take a closer look and find out some more information.
Long Time Coming
Overall, doctors have been warning the public about the risks of benzodiazepines, particularly the potentially addictive nature of these drugs, for years. However, the fact that this boost in benzodiazepine use at the crux of and opioid epidemic is an even more disturbing part of reality. Why is this the case?
According to medical researchers, mixing benzos with opioids can result in a fatal cocktail. Based on reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2014, 30% of opioid-related overdoses also involved the use of benzodiazepines. Even more disturbing, since 2012, the growing number of deaths resulting from overdoses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were directly linked to these anti-anxiety medications (more than 1/3 of drug-related deaths in the city).
Double Trouble
Both drugs, in part, slow down the central nervous system to make you relax. Mixing the two together is essentially lethal, in this sense. According to psychiatrist Abigail Kay (associate dean at Sidney Kimmel Medical College), both drugs will reinforce the strength of each other, leading to deadly results. Back in June 2018, the Journal of the American Medical Association confirmed that Medicare Part D beneficiaries who simultaneously received prescriptions for benzodiazepines and opioids were 5 times more likely to suffer from an overdose in the following 3 months (due to an accidental mixture).
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