This barrier to prescribing has placed renewed focus on benzodiazepine dependence. The public health impact of this rescheduling is yet to be determined.
It has greater toxicity in overdose, 7 and associated mortality 8 relative to other benzodiazepines. In February 2014, in response to increasing illicit use, alprazolam was rescheduled to Schedule 8. 4, 5 There is evidence of increased mortality with long-term use. In older patients they have been associated with cognitive decline, dementia 3 and falls. 2īenzodiazepine-related problems include diversion, misuse, dependency, driving impairment, and morbidity and mortality related to overdose and withdrawal. There are few indications for long-term therapy and they are generally controversial. 1 Of particular concern are the patients who have been using benzodiazepines for more than six months. Alprazolam became the second most popular drug, increasing more than eightfold. Over the last 20 years the quantity of benzodiazepines on each prescription has increased. Despite a modest decrease in the annual number of benzodiazepine prescriptions dispensed, the current level of prescribing probably represents significant overuse.
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