Researchers from Dundee University have warned that a drug intended to treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy and anxiety is increasingly being used as a recreational drug.
The team, from the centre for forensic and legal medicine at the university, have identified several cases of phenazepam misuse and warn that it could become more widely used as a legal replacement for proscribed substances.
Last year several people were admitted to hospital with phenazepam overdoses. It is a type of benzodiazepine (psychoactive) drug developed in the 1970s for the treatment of epilepsy, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, insomnia, and anxiety.
It is available on prescription only in countries of the former Soviet bloc, and is not controlled in the UK, most of Europe, or the USA. As such, it can be bought legally over the internet. Recent reports from Sweden, Finland, and the US describe it being used illicitly in place of similar drugs such as diazepam.
After the identification of a trend of misuse, a letter from the team on the issue is published in the British Medical Journal.
The Dundee team has identified nine cases since January in which postmortem blood samples contained phenazepam.
Dr Peter Maskell, a lecturer in forensic toxicology at Dundee said this suggests that phenazepam use is on the rise in the UK, but stressed this did not indicate any impact on overall levels of drug use or fatalities.
“This many cases suggest that the use of phenazepam by drug misusers in the UK is on the rise,” he said. “Phenazepam can be obtained legally on the internet so it could become more widely used as substitute for controlled benzodiazepines or designer drugs.
“It is important to note there is no evidence that people are taking more drugs as a result of the availability of phenazepam. Rather, it would seem it is increasingly being used as a replacement for other drugs, most notably diazepam, because we are seeing more instances of its use.
“Whether that is actually a deliberate switch on the part of users or because it is 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.”
Concern was raised last year when three people in the English Midlands and six people in Scotland were admitted to hospital after phenazepam overdoses. These cases and increased seizures of the drug by police led the Scottish Government to issue warnings about phenazepam.
Dr Maskell and his colleagues began screening post-mortem blood samples for phenazepam in their forensic toxicology laboratory from the end of January.
In each of the nine cases in which phenazepam was detected, there was a history of drug misuse and all occurred in men and women aged 31 to 45. Death was from the adverse effects of opiates in seven cases and from non-drug-related causes in two.
Dr Maskell said, “This is not a party drug likely to be consumed by casual users but is more likely to be seen in persons with a history of misuse.”