Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took emergency action Monday to ban the sale of “designer Xanax,” responding to a request from his state’s attorney general who is leading a broader effort to combat the highly potent synthetic drug linked to dozens of overdose deaths last year in the Bluegrass State.
Beshear’s action in his state comes as a coalition of 21 attorneys general, led by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, is urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to take emergency action banning the unregulated drug. It poses a growing public health threat and is increasingly contributing to overdose deaths, the attorneys general said in a letter dated Monday to DEA Administrator Terry Cole.
Bromazolam — widely known as “designer Xanax” — is being passed off as prescription pills including benzodiazepines, which are commonly used to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, insomnia, and seizures, Coleman has warned. The drug has never been approved for medical use in the U.S. or elsewhere, according to a 2023 fact sheet from the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.
“There is zero margin of error when it comes to illicit drugs and counterfeit pills,” the attorneys general said in their letter to Cole. “As parents and public officials, we must do everything possible to cut off the supply of these deadly substances through vigorous enforcement, while also continuing to promote the prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts that are saving lives across our states.”
In Kentucky, the classification of bromazolam as a Schedule 1 controlled substance took immediate effect following Beshear’s emergency regulation. The action empowers law enforcement to make arrests for selling or possessing the drug, Beshear’s office said.
“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,” the Democratic governor said in a release.
Beshear, a former Kentucky attorney general now in his second term as governor, is widely seen as a potential candidate for president in 2028.
The drug he and Coleman targeted has been tied to a growing number of fatal overdoses in Kentucky and across the nation, Beshear’s office said. It was detected in nearly 50 overdose deaths in Kentucky last year, the office said, even as overdose deaths in Kentucky have decreased for three years in a row.
“We live in a moment when as little as one pill can kill — and is killing — our kids,” Coleman said in response to Beshear’s action. “I’m glad we could work together to tackle this grave threat.”
In their letter to the head of DEA, the attorneys general said bromazolam is being sold illicitly on the streets and online. It is highly potent and unpredictable, they said, especially when combined with opioids or other central nervous system depressants. Unlike regulated medications, illicitly manufactured bromazolam lacks quality controls, making it particularly lethal for unsuspecting users, they said.
“Despite its clear dangers, bromazolam remains unscheduled at the federal level, creating significant challenges for law enforcement and public health officials trying to respond to this emerging crisis,” the letter said. “Without scheduling, this drug continues to evade traditional regulatory and prosecutorial tools, hindering interdiction efforts and enabling continued distribution through illicit channels.”
Emergency action by the DEA would help law enforcement remove the drug from circulation, give prosecutors the ability to hold traffickers accountable and would “send a clear signal that this dangerous substance has no place on our streets,” the letter said.
Besides Coleman, the request to the DEA included attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, Coleman’s office said.
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