What Is Bromazolam

• It is a Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) with psychoactive and sedative effects similar to other benzodiazepines.
• It is often sold as tablets or powders and can be used to adulterate drugs like fentanyl or alprazolam (Xanax).
• It is available on the online drug market under names like “legal benzodiazepines,” “designer benzodiazepines,” and “research chemicals”.

Illicit Sales and Warning

• The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction issued warnings about bromazolam being sold illicitly as early as 2016.
• Recent news articles highlight the danger of bromazolam being sold illicitly in the United States, often falsely marketed as Xanax or Alprazolam.

Effects and Risks of Bromazolam

• Reports describe as having severe sleep-inducing and sedative effects, even more so than etizolam.
• Neonatal withdrawal reactions and central nervous system depression in newborns are concerns associated with maternal benzodiazepine use, including bromazolam, during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• The FDA categorizes benzodiazepines, including bromazolam, as potentially risky during pregnancy, with benefits possibly outweighing the risks in certain cases.

It is a synthetic benzodiazepine drug, initially developed in the 1970s but never medically approved. It has appeared on the recreational drug market and is linked to adverse health events.

Is a non-subtype selective agonist at the benzodiazepine site of GABAA receptors. It was first detected in British Columbia in January 2021. As a triazolo-benzodiazepine, bromazolam is related to alprazolam, differing by a bromine atom. It has been associated with severe sedative effects.