Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) Alerts
Bromazolam alert
- Version
- Bromazolam alert Show version history
- Published
- 05 July 2023
- Type
- Guidance
Information for people who take drugs and community members
The unregulated drug supply is increasingly toxic and unpredictable.
Getting support and treatment reduces the risk of experiencing harm or dying from an overdose.
Speak to your local drug service about support for benzo use. Click here to find a drug service in your area.
If you are dependent on benzos and want to stop, it is important to slowly and steadily reduce the quantity over time.
Sudden withdrawal can cause seizures, which can be life threatening. Your GP or local drug service can help with this. For more information on benzodiazepine withdrawal, visit The Ashton Manual.
Follow harm reduction practices
- Any medicine obtained without a prescription should be treated with caution.
- Even if a tablet looks authentic, it may be fake and it can be difficult to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit medication.
- The contents may be lower quality, be contaminated with other substances or have unpredictable potency levels. The contents can vary even within the same batch.
- There are some potential signs that may indicate that a pill is fake, including differences in colour, size and shape compared to the real medication. Fake tablets may be of poor quality or crumble easily.
- The packaging may be made from lower-quality materials, have spelling or grammatical errors, or lack information such as dosage instructions, expiry dates, serial numbers and tamper-proof seals.
- Pills purchased from illegitimate sources or online marketplaces are likely to be counterfeit. To find out more, visit: Dangers of buying medicines online – NHS.
- Benzos can cause memory loss, making it difficult to keep track of time. Make a note of doses – use paper, a journal or an app.
- Set alarms and reminders for important tasks and appointments.
- Avoid buying in bulk as this increases the chances of using more.
- Split a large quantity of pills into smaller batches to keep track of dosing.
- Avoid cooking or smoking if you feel really tired.
- Keep all drugs and medicines out of sight and out of reach of children and animals. Where possible, keep them locked away in secure packaging.
- Drug testing is the only way to confirm drug contents. To get a sample tested, use the free, anonymous postal service provided by WEDINOS.
- Visit wedinos.org and click sample testing.
- Print off a sample form.
- Follow the instructions to generate a reference code and make a note of the code.
- Fill in the form completely or the sample won’t be accepted.
- Put the form and drug sample (double wrapped in something leakproof) into an envelope with a stamp on it and post it to WEDINOS.
- Results will be posted online a few days later.
- Take a test dose – a small amount or part of a pill.
- The drug purchased may not always be the drug that it’s expected to be. It may contain adulterants or cutting agents, be mis-sold or contain a different amount than anticipated.
- If someone who takes benzos regularly has stopped or cut down use, their tolerance will have reduced. This increases the risk of overdose as they will not need to take as much to get the same effect.
- Leave as long as you can between doses. The effects of one dose of bromazolam can last 5–8 hours (TripSit).
- Some drugs have a very long half-life (over 24 hours), which means they stay in the body long after the initial effects have worn off and can increase risk when other drugs are taken.
- Redosing too quickly can cause drugs to build up in the body.
- Avoid injecting. This route of administration poses the highest risk. Injecting crushed pills can block veins causing serious infection and other complications.
- Avoid mixing drugs (including alcohol and medicines).
- Mixing drugs can cause unexpected and unpredictable results. This is a major risk factor in drug-related deaths.
- If you do mix drugs, research potential interactions between substances, ensure you are somewhere safe and take much less of both than you would if you were only taking one.
- Drugs such as opioids, gabapentinoids and alcohol have similar effects to benzodiazepines. They slow down heart rate and breathing. Combining them significantly increases the risk of overdose.
- Make sure that there are people around who can respond in the event of an emergency.
- Tell someone what you have taken, how much and when.
- Benzos can decrease your appetite. Try to eat well and stay hydrated by drinking water regularly.
- Sleep on your side. This will help to keep your airway clear.
- Naloxone is an effective, life-saving medicine that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although benzodiazepines are not opioids, naloxone should always be administered if the person is overdosing and is unresponsive – many overdoses involve both benzos and opioids and reversing the effects of one drug may be enough to bring the person round.
- Pick up naloxone from a drug service or order online from Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs.