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Benzodiazepine Boom: Tracking Etizolam, Pyrazolam, and Flubromazepam from Pre-UK Psychoactive Act 2016 to Present Using Analytical and Social Listening Techniques

Anthony Mullin Orcid Logo, Mark Scott, Giorgia Vaccaro, Giuseppe Floresta Orcid Logo, Davide Arillotta Orcid Logo, Valeria Catalani Orcid Logo, John M. Corkery Orcid Logo, Jacqueline L. Stair Orcid Logo, Fabrizio Schifano Orcid Logo, Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo

Pharmacy, Volume: 12, Issue: 1, Start page: 13

Swansea University Author: Amira Guirguis Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/pharmacy12010013

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first_pagesettingsOrder Article ReprintsOpen AccessArticleBenzodiazepine Boom: Tracking Etizolam, Pyrazolam, and Flubromazepam from Pre-UK Psychoactive Act 2016 to Present Using Analytical and Social Listening Techniquesby Anthony Mullin 1ORCID,Mark Scott 1,Giorgia Vaccaro 1,Giuseppe Floresta 1,2ORC...

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Published in: Pharmacy
ISSN: 2226-4787
Published: MDPI AG 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65563
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Abstract: first_pagesettingsOrder Article ReprintsOpen AccessArticleBenzodiazepine Boom: Tracking Etizolam, Pyrazolam, and Flubromazepam from Pre-UK Psychoactive Act 2016 to Present Using Analytical and Social Listening Techniquesby Anthony Mullin 1ORCID,Mark Scott 1,Giorgia Vaccaro 1,Giuseppe Floresta 1,2ORCID,Davide Arillotta 3ORCID,Valeria Catalani 1ORCID,John M. Corkery 1ORCID,Jacqueline L. Stair 1ORCID,Fabrizio Schifano 1ORCID andAmira Guirguis 4,*ORCID1Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse & Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK2Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, 95131 Catania, Italy3School of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy4Pharmacy, Medical School, The Grove Extension, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.Pharmacy 2024, 12(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy12010013Submission received: 27 October 2023 / Revised: 1 January 2024 / Accepted: 4 January 2024 / Published: 12 January 2024Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Review Reports Versions NotesAbstractIntroduction: The designer benzodiazepine (DBZD) market continues to expand whilst evading regulatory controls. The widespread adoption of social media by pro-drug use communities encourages positive discussions around DBZD use/misuse, driving demand. This research addresses the evolution of three popular DBZDs, etizolam (E), flubromazepam (F), and pyrazolam (P), available on the drug market for over a decade, comparing the quantitative chemical analyses of tablet samples, purchased from the internet prior to the implementation of the Psychoactive Substances Act UK 2016, with the thematic netnographic analyses of social media content. Method: Drug samples were purchased from the internet in early 2016. The characterisation of all drug batches were performed using UHPLC-MS and supported with 1H NMR. In addition, netnographic studies across the platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, between 2016–2023, were conducted. The latter was supported by both manual and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven thematic analyses, using numerous.ai and ChatGPT, of social media threads and discussions. Results: UHPLC-MS confirmed the expected drug in every sample, showing remarkable inter/intra batch variability across all batches (E = 13.8 ± 0.6 to 24.7 ± 0.9 mg; F = 4.0 ± 0.2 to 23.5 ± 0.8 mg; P = 5.2 ± 0.2 to 11.5 ± 0.4 mg). 1H NMR could not confirm etizolam as a lone compound in any etizolam batch. Thematic analyses showed etizolam dominated social media discussions (59% of all posts), with 24.2% of posts involving sale/purchase and 17.8% detailing new administration trends/poly-drug use scenarios. Artificial intelligence confirmed three of the top five trends identified manually. Conclusions: Purity variability identified across all tested samples emphasises the increased potential health risks associated with DBZD consumption. We propose the global DBZD market is exacerbated by surface web social media discussions, recorded across X and Reddit. Despite the appearance of newer analogues, these three DBZDs remain prevalent and popularised. Reporting themes on harm/effects and new developments in poly-drug use trends, demand for DBZDs continues to grow, despite their potent nature and potential risk to life. It is proposed that greater controls and constant live monitoring of social media user content is warranted to drive active regulation strategies and targeted, effective, harm reduction strategies.
Keywords: designer benzodiazepines; social media; poly-drug use; analytical characterisation
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Funders: This research was supported in part by grants of the European Commission-targeted call on cross-border law enforcement cooperation in the field of drug trafficking—DG Justice/DG Migrations and Home Affairs (JUST/2013/ISEC/DRUGS/AG/6429) Project EPS/NPS (Enhancing Police Skills concerning novel psychoactive substances, NPS). This research was also funded by the University of Hertfordshire, grant number 11.101336.3367.
Issue: 1
Start Page: 13

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