Old and “New Designer” Benzodiazepines as Crime Facilitating Drugs: A Review of Toxicological and Analytical Aspects

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Many crimes, especially of a sexual nature, are committed using sedative substances to reduce the victim's state of consciousness and reactivity and are defined as "drugs facilitated crimes". Among these, benzodiazepines (BDZ) and some new designer derivatives are widely used especially in liquid formulations added to other drinks. The purpose of this article is to analyze the chemical, toxicological and analytical characteristics starting from the alteration data and through in-depth analysis on dedicated databases. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We conducted searches in PUBMED, PUBCHEM, CHEMID PLUS and GOOGLE SCHOLAR for papers and documents done on qualitative characteristics of the BDZ most commonly used as facilitating crimes. We have selected research articles and reviews from 2012 to 2022, with the primary endpoint relative to the typology of BDZ found in the samples examined in the various studies. We also researched their chemical and toxicological characteristics on the PUBCHEM and CHEMID PLUS international databases. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Benzodiazepines (BDZs) are among the most commonly used sedatives for illicit purposes, including their use to facilitate sexual crimes or robbery, alone or in co-administration with other substances, especially alcohol. In recent years there have been recorded cases of both classic BDZ intoxication, marketed as medicinal specialties, but also of new designer BDZs such as cinazepam, flualprazolam or phenazepam, less easily detectable in first-level toxicological tests and often much more potent than other more commonly used compounds. The analytical techniques in use, especially the first-level assays used in triages, can sometimes fail to cross-react and make these molecules invisible which, even in the most sophisticated confirmation tests such as techniques combined with mass spectrometry, do not always make these new psychoactive substances detectable.

The use of prodrugs as drugs of abuse

“…The effects of designer benzodiazepines that are active metabolites of other benzodiazepines are thought to be similar to those of the parent drugs, although the exact pharmacology may still be unknown and half‐lives are a challenge to estimate (Wilde et al, 2021). Designer benzodiazepines have been implicated in drug‐facilitated sexual assaults, including nordiazepam (desmethyldiazepam) an active metabolite of diazepam (Morgillo et al, 2023; Pérez Orts et al, 2023).…”