Benzodiazepine (Benzos) Archives – Addiction Treatment Strategies | Addiction Treatment Strategies

Admissions for treatment of benzodiazepine abuse nearly tripled in the United States between 1998 and 2008, while overall admissions for substance abuse rose only 11 percent, according to a government study released Thursday.
Benzodiazepines — a class of drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizure disorders — include Valium, Halcion, Xanax, Ativan and Librium. Abuse of benzodiazepines, which were introduced in the 1950s to replace barbiturates, can lead to addiction, injury and death.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study found that admissions for treatment of benzodiazepine…

A new national study shows that from 1998 to 2008 (the most recent year with available figures) substance abuse treatment admissions among those 12 and older related to the abuse of benzodiazepine drugs rose from 22,400 in 1998 to approximately 60,200 in 2008. The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that while benzodiazepine related admissions represented only 3.2- percent of all substance abuse admissions among this population in 2008, it had grown from the 1.3- percent it represented in 1998.
Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs introduced in the late 1950?s to replace…

LOUISVILLE, KY -A nurse practitioner at a community mental health center here, had tired of the constant stream of patients seeking Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug coveted for its swift calming effect. Her employer, Seven Counties Services, serves some 30,000 patients in Louisville and the surrounding region. Because of the clamor for the drug, and concern over the striking number of overdoses involving Xanax here and across the country, Seven Counties took an unusual step – its doctors stopped writing new prescriptions for Xanax and its generic version, alprazolam, in April and plan to wean patients off it completely by year’s…