FRANKFORT, Ky. (WOWK) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) stated on Monday that bromazolam, also referred to as “Designer Xanax,” has obtained an emergency state designation as a Schedule I managed substance.
As a Schedule I substance, the drug is banned sale in Kentucky, and the transfer gives legislation enforcement the flexibility to make arrests for gross sales or possession.
A launch from Beshear’s workplace stated the designation is in response to a rising variety of overdose deaths from the drug. Forty-eight overdose deaths had been tied to bromazolam in Kentucky in 2024.
“Team Kentucky has made important progress in our fight against addiction, with three straight years of declines in overdose deaths, and we’re committed to ensuring that work continues,” Gov. Beshear stated. “This deadly drug has no place in our communities, and now we have the tools needed to get it off the streets and protect more lives.”
Bromazolam, a drug that is structurally much like Xanax, was developed within the Nineteen Seventies however has by no means been authorised to be used within the U.S., in line with the Legislative Evaluation and Public Coverage Affiliation (LAPPA). It began popping up as a bootleg drug within the U.S. in 2019.
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The drug has been distributed in pill and tablet type and is commonly bought underneath the title “XLI-268,” LAPPA says.
The designation in Kentucky is efficient instantly and got here on the request of Legal professional Common Russell Coleman, the discharge stated.
“By answering our call to take emergency action on bromazolam, we have given Kentucky law enforcement new tools to keep this dangerous drug off our streets,” stated Legal professional Common Coleman. “I’m proud of the zealous collaboration with the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force to sound the alarm and save lives. We live in a moment when as little as one pill can kill – and is killing – our kids. I’m glad we could work together to tackle this grave threat.”
Different states that designate bromazolam as a Schedule I managed substance embody Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. It is not labeled federally on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s listing of managed substances.
Xanax, in the meantime, is taken into account a Schedule IV drug federally. Based on the DEA, a Schedule IV drug is one with a “low potential for abuse and low risk of dependence.” Different Schedule IV substances embody Valium, Ativan and Ambien.
