Phenazepam and its Effects on Driving

Abstract

Phenazepam use in the state of Georgia has increasingly become a trend for a drug market looking at new and different recreational drugs. This paper examines the psychomotor effects of phenazepam on individuals and their ability to operate a motor vehicle. This study reviewed phenazepam cases of impaired drivers that were submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Division of Forensic Sciences between March, 2010, and August, 2011. A total of 11 cases were reviewed, of which five had only phenazepam detected and six had multiple drugs detected in addition to phenazepam. Concentrations ranged from 0.04 to 3.2 mg/L, with a median of 0.17 mg/L and a mean of 0.50 mg/L (0.23 mg/L, excluding the 3.2 mg/L blood concentration). The observed effects where symptomatic of central nervous system depression with slurred speech, lack of balance, slow reactions, drowsiness and confusion. This review indicates that the use of phenazepam at concentrations similar to other low-dose benzodiazepines such as clonazepam can have a significant impact on an individual's ability to drive.

Analysis of phenazepam and 3‐hydroxyphenazepam in post‐mortem fluids and tissues

“…These two studies and other DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) studies in which only phenazepam was detected give a limited insight into the acute effects of phenazepam over the published therapeutic levels. In a 40‐year‐old male with phenazepam blood levels of ~ 0.04 mg/L, slurred speech, confusion, a lack of awareness, and constricted pupils were observed . In a DUID case a 24‐year‐old female with similar blood levels of phenazepam (~0.05 mg/L) appeared lethargic, with an intoxicated appearance and a heart rate of 150 BPM .…”

“…In a 40‐year‐old male with phenazepam blood levels of ~ 0.04 mg/L, slurred speech, confusion, a lack of awareness, and constricted pupils were observed . In a DUID case a 24‐year‐old female with similar blood levels of phenazepam (~0.05 mg/L) appeared lethargic, with an intoxicated appearance and a heart rate of 150 BPM . In another DUID case, a 21‐year‐old male was also found to be 'intoxicated' and lethargic (blood phenazepam ~0.06 mg/L) .…”

“…In the past few years phenazepam has been used as a drug of abuse across the world with cases being reported in the UK, the USA, Finland, New Zealand, and Norway . The abuse of phenazepam has led to it being controlled in a number of European countries including the UK, Norway, Finland, and Lithuania . This paper describes the toxicological findings from 29 post‐mortem investigations between January 2011 and April 2013 where phenazepam was detected and quantitated in a variety of post‐mortem fluids (blood, urine, and vitreous) and tissues (brain, liver, and muscle) using LC‐MS/MS.…”

Detection of phenazepam in illicitly manufactured Erimin 5 tablets

“…It has not been licensed elsewhere in the world. [14][15][16] Liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has also been applied to the analysis of human blood, [16][17][18] post-mortem fluids and tissues, [19] and human hair samples. [9][10][11] Phenazepam intended for oral administration is supplied in 0.5-2 mg tablet form, with normal adult dose being 0.5 mg 2-3 times daily for treatment of anxiety.…”

Phenazepam: More information coming in from the cold

“…Outside of the former soviet bloc there has been evidence of the abuse of phenazepam around the world since 1999 [3], with reports of overdoses, driving under the influence of drug (DUID) cases and also deaths [4][5][6][7][8]. As with other benzodiazepines the deaths have usually involved other drugs as well as phenazepam rather than phenazepam in isolation [9].…”