
A growing black market for the benzodiazepine drug Xanax – including fake versions laced with synthetic opioids – is putting young lives at risk. Penington Institute CEO John Ryan shares some expert insights with ABC News.
ABC News reports increasing concern from medical professionals about young people using the benzodiazepine medication Xanax recreationally.
As Penington Institute CEO John Ryan explains:
"The drug market keeps changing, often in reaction to the previous sort of drug craze.
"I think we're now seeing an increase in benzodiazepines because it isn't heroin, it's not methamphetamine, and so people think it's safer."
John Ryan, Penington Institute CEO
The risks of black market Xanax
The article explains that many people are seeking Xanax on the black market. However, Ryan warns that much of the Xanax being sold illegally is actually counterfeit.
"(Imitation drugs) are often manufactured to look exactly like quality assured pharmaceutical drugs, but they're not.
"They often contain lots of other much more dangerous substances, other more potent benzodiazepines, but also synthetic opioids."
John Ryan, Penington Institute CEO
Read the full article, ‘Experts say recreational use of benzodiazepine medication Xanax is increasing among young people’, published on ABC News on 13 January 2025.