Benzodiazepine prescribing: a qualitative cross-national comparative pilot between Australia and South Africa.

[Extract] Benzodiazepines have anxiolytic, sedative, hypnotic and muscle relaxant effects and are used to treat anxiety, panic and sleep disorders. They may result in an altered mental state, including euphoria, resulting in misuse and abuse. Misuse includes pharmacologic dependence, especially when used for more than one month. Drugs with a shorter half-life are associated with more severe withdrawal symptoms and dependence, although symptoms vary between patients. \ud \ud Abuse includes behaviour that accompanies psychological dependence, and includes drug diversion for illicit purposes. Legal restrictions on prescribing and dispensing limit misuse and abuse and in South Africa, benzodiazepines are Schedule 5 medicines. Although the abuse potential of benzodiazepines is low, alprazolam was rescheduled from a prescription drug to a Controlled Drug in Australia in 2014 due to its potential for illicit drug use. Benzodiazepines used orally for recreational purposes include diazepam, alprazolam, temazepam, flunitrazepam and, to a lesser extent, triazolam and lorazepam