In a novel study researchers warned that Russian epilepsy drugs are being more and more used in UK as an alternative for illegal drugs. Phenazepam is a psychoactive drug which also used to treat conditions such as insomnia and alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
Phenazepam is accessible on prescription in Russia and many other CIS states. However, reports from Sweden, Finland and the US propose that it is being used illegally in lieu of analogous drugs like diazepam. The researchers from Dundee University stated that they had detected a tendency of misuse.
They had found nine cases, where postmortem blood samples had contained phenazepam. The concern over the illegal use of the drug in UK was increased, when three people in East Midlands and six people in Scotland were hospitalized after the overdoses of phenazepam.
According to lead author Dr Peter Maskell, a lecturer in forensic toxicology at Dundee, the invention suggested use of the drug was increasing in the UK, at the same time stressed that it could not be directly identified as cause of death in any of the conditions.
He added it would look as if it is more and more being used as a substitute for other drugs, especially diazepam, because they are seeing more instances of its use. Whether that is actually an intentional turn on the part of users or because it is what dealers are selling is unclear at this stage.
Like other benzodiazepines, phenazepam can be addictive and mixing with other drugs such as heroin or alcohol increases the risk of drug interaction. There is a key difference between this drug and other legally available substances which have hit the headlines in recent years.
This is not a party drug prone to be consumed by casual users but is more likely to be seen in persons with a history of misuse, frequently with harder drugs such as heroin, methadone and other opiates, sated DR Maskell.