Two ‘alprazolam’ bar pills were brought into CanTEST for testing, expected to contain alprazolam (‘Xanax’).

One pill was a yellow bar-press printed with RO39.

The second pill was a white bar-press printed with ‘XANAX’ on the front and ’02’ on the reverse.

Neither of these samples contained any alprazolam (‘Xanax’).

What does this mean?

Benzos are drugs typically used to sedate and treat anxiety.

Ethylflualprazolam is a new benzodiazepine. This is the first reported detection in Australia.

Although both alprazolam and ethylflualprazoalam are from the same family of drugs, benzos can vary greatly in potency, onset, and effects.

Effects of benzos can include drowsiness, dizziness, memory loss, and impaired coordination. Effects and how long they last vary widely with benzos. Overdose risks can include potential fatal respiratory depression. Because of this, you should wait longer intervals before using another depressant (over 72hrs in some cases) to avoid the risk of an overdose.

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.

Reducing the harm

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 benzos inside a single pill – drastically raising the risk for users.

These two samples show that you can’t tell what’s in your drugs just by looking at them – test it before you take it.

Alprazolam is not readily available from Australian pharmacies. While other brands containing alprazolam can be obtained on prescription, ‘Xanax’ bars are not available in Australia. This means you can expect most if not all ‘Xanax’ bars to be counterfeit, containing novel benzodiazepines instead of or in addition to alprazolam.

Don’t mix it with alcohol or other depressants. Remember, some benzos can have effects that last multiple days after use.

Start low, go slow. Try a test dose first and never use alone.

Be alert for signs of an overdose. Think someone has overdosed?

Call 000 for an ambulance immediately.