A white ‘Mylan’ pill expected to contain a benzodiazepine was found to contain bromazolam and clonazolam. This sample was acquired in Sydney but was tested by Pill Testing Australia at DIGI Festival (Canberra).

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Clonazolam is a novel benzodiazepine, or ‘Benzo’. Benzos are typically used to sedate and treat anxiety. Clonazolam has a strong sedative effect, known for its high potency.

Bromazolam is a new benzodiazepine that has strong sedative effects. There is limited information available about it – and it hasn’t been used in human trials. Although bromazolam is from the same family of drugs as alprazolam and diazepam, benzos can vary greatly in potency, onset and effects.

Consumers of a combination benzodiazepines like the ones found in these samples are likely to experience a far deeper and longer period of sedation than they may expect.

HARM REDUCTION

Your risk of harm is significantly increased if using depressants such as alcohol, GHB or opioids with benzos, consuming multiple different benzos in one pill or by consuming multiple benzo pills.

Test your stuff! A global trend is that unregulated or counterfeit pharmaceuticals, such as benzodiazepines, are becoming more common and very convincing, making them hard to distinguish from legitimate pharmaceutical products. In some cases, there are several different substances inside a single pill – drastically raising the risk for users.