You may have heard this question before, but how many people do you know currently taking benzodiazepines? Because they are taken in pill form, odds are people all around you are taking them and you don’t know it.  I would venture to guess two or three of your acquaintances are using this prescription medication.

This is part of our blog series on addictive drugs. But what exactly are benzodiazepines and are they addictive?  Benzodiazepines are psychoactive drugs whose effects include acting as a sedative, hypnotic (sleep-inducing), anxiolytic (anti-anxiety), anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant and amnesic action. These properties make benzodiazepines useful in treating anxiety, insomnia, agitation, seizures, muscle spasms, alcohol withdrawal and as a premedication for medical or dental procedures.

Benzodiazepines are categorized as either short-, intermediate- or long-acting. Short- and intermediate-acting benzodiazepines are preferred for the treatment of insomnia; longer-acting benzodiazepines are recommended for the treatment of anxiety.

I can tell you from experience that I have known hundreds of alcoholics who give up alcohol and then become very addicted to benzodiazepines.

How addictive are they?

How about as addictive as tobacco and barbiturates?  An article in The Lancet compared the harm and addiction of 20 drugs, using a scale from 0 to 3 (with three being the most addictive substances like heroin) for physical addiction, psychological addiction, and pleasure to create a mean score for addiction.  Benzos scored 1.8 the same as two drugs previously mentioned in terms of physical addiction.  Benzodiazepines scored a 2.1 for psychological dependence, more than amphetamines and barbiturates and just less than tobacco.

Chlordiazepoxide (Librium) was the first benzodiazepine produced. Diazepam (Valium) was the next to be developed and until the early 1980s this was the most widely prescribed tranquillizer in the world. Today, newer benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax) and lorazepam (Ativan) account for most tranquillizer prescriptions.

While they no doubt hold some medicinal value, they are highly addictive and should be used in only extreme cases, and then only the care and guidance of a doctor with a strong knowledge of your personal health history.

How many people do you know who are addicted to something? By that I don’t mean my friend who is addicted to refurbishing old motorcycles.  I am asking about people who addicted to a chemical substance.

Over the following weeks I will be writing a series of blogs on addictive drugs.  The series will begin with the least addictive and move on to the most addictive.  It will cover marijuana, alcohol and tobacco as well as cocaine, heroin, LSD, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and amphetamines.

One of the major underlying issues is that some people are more prone to addictive behavior.  Believe it or not, research has shown that people can be genetically pre-dispositioned to addictive behavior. 

Look at your parents. Are they addicts? If so, you stand a much greater chance of becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol yourself. That’s not to say that you will.  Of course if you never try a drug, you will never be addicted to it. 

But not all drugs are the same when it comes to being addictive.  I hope you enjoy the series.  As always I welcome your comments on anything we blog about here.  Too learn more about drugs and alcohol and their addictive qualities please take one of our in class or online drug classes.