Benzodiazepines and their links to UK youth culture

The Benzo Research Project is a UK based group that recently published an article “Benzodiazepines and their links to UK youth culture”.  Benzodiazepines, commonly known as benzos, are a class of CNS depressant drugs that can be easily accessed via prescription or through the unregulated market. The UK currently has the second-highest rate of benzo prescriptions and dark web purchases of “Xanax” (which is meant to contain alprazolam), a popular brand of benzodiazepine (sometimes referred to as “bricks”). The article explores possible reasons for the rise in use, including the influence of social media, celebrity, and pop culture, as well as the pandemic's impact on mental health and possible subsequent self-medicating. Although the article focuses on the UK, anecdotally we know there has been an increase in benzodiazepine use by young people in some areas of Queensland so we thought this was an interesting one to share.

Go to “Benzodiazepines and their links to UK youth culture”