NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (NETWORK INDIANA): Coroners in Indiana are starting to see a new drug pop up on their toxicology reports of people who are overdosing.
It’s called bromazalam, a drug that is similar to fentanyl. It’s an opiate that can be highly addictive and deadly in large doses.
“We were aware on the surface of other states that were experiencing this; Ohio, Illinois, and that’s really typically the way we see things here in Indiana,” said Hamilton County sheriff Jeff Jellison on WISH-TV. “It emerges in neighboring states and then all of a sudden you see it here at home.”
Jellison said they are already seeing the drug take many forms. He said people have been finding it in pill form and powder form most predominantly. They are also seeing it in gummy form. Jellison also said that since it is an unscheduled drug in the U.S., it’s being made on the black market.
“This drug is obviously very powerful, and people are buying it assuming it’s this drug,” he said. “But oftentimes when we see these toxicology reports, you’ll see fentanyl and other drugs associated with it simply because that’s what it’s being cut by.”
In Indiana this year 64 overdose deaths are being attributed to bromazalam. It’s a small number but Jellison believes this is just the beginning of a newer drug problem.
1 comment
Bromazolam is a benzodiazepine NOT an opiate. It can only be deadly when mixed with other CNS depressants. I can guarantee none of these unfortunate deaths were from Bromazalam only. To compare it to fentanyl nearly made me fall out of my chair laughing. Not even in the same drug class. Scheduling bromazalam would be another mistake in the war on drugs. It would push people to fake Xanax that actually could be laced with fentanyl. Kill more people. How about you mention the full toxicology reports on these deaths showing simply the presence of bromazalam along with another 5 CNS depressants.