To the Editor: Rintoul and colleagues showed that alprazolam is being increasingly detected in heroin-related deaths.1 One explanation provided is increased rates of alprazolam misuse among people who inject drugs.
The full article is accessible to AMA
members and paid subscribers.
Login to MJA or subscribe now.
- 1. Rintoul AC, Dobbin MDH, Nielsen S, et al. Recent increase in detection of alprazolam in Victorian heroin-related deaths. Med J Aust 2013; 198: 206-209. <MJA full text>
- 2. Moylan S, Giorlando F, Nordfjaern T, Berk M. The role of alprazolam for the treatment of panic disorder in Australia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2012; 46: 212-224.
- 3. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) in adults. NICE clinical guideline 113. London: NICE, 2011.
- 4. Best D, Wilson A, Reed M, et al. Alprazolam and wider benzodiazepine misuse in Australia — sources of supply and evidence of harms. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2013; 47: 94-95.
- 5. Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria. Warning: alprazolam (Xanax, Kalma, Zamhexsal). Bulletin 2009; (Jun): 11.
- 6. Galloway J. Newsletter number 42. Information circular for pharmacists in Tasmania. New restrictions on the prescribing of alprazolam. Hobart: Department of Health and Human Services, 2007.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.
No relevant disclosures.