Bad stuff unless you must have it.
Bad stuff unless you must have it.
Benzos are a respiratory depressant, and when combined with Methadone it amplifies it to the point where you stop breathing in your sleep and never wake up from respiratory failure, lack of oxygen to the brain, or your body freaks out and has a coronary episode, etc. it's really really risky -- no joke & no exaggeration. If alcohol is in the mix too then it's even worse.
And I'm not going to pretend like it's not enjoyable -- because it is. It's a great fuckin' buzz if downers are your thing. IMO it's better than heroin (no 'rush' to it, but the effects hit you like a ton of bricks and it lasts all night long. And it's a cheap buzz too), but it's also asking for your life to end.
methadone clinics know this and every one that I've ever seen, heard of, or been to personally Benzos are their one big 'no-no' [as in: if we find it in your Whiz Quiz we kick you out, some won't even give you a second chance and most clinics have mandatory urine screening twice a month, some every week]. You can test positive for damn near anything else -- and they expect you to test positive for opiates -- but if you have benzos in there then you kick rocks.
And it was explained to me at 3 different clinics in 3 different areas of the country that it was really about #1) liability -- particularly at clinics that accepted insurance for payment but not exclusively, there were cash-only ones with the same rule: No Benzos full-stop. If you had a legit prescription for xanax or ativan then they would send a letter to the prescribing doctor and would not dose you until they got an affirmative, positive response -- and to a somewhat lesser extent #2) they know it has the real potential to be fatal, and they're not monsters they don't want to kill all the junkies. Despite what you might think, some of them actually do give a shit and got into substance abuse medicine trying to help. Sure, for some it's just a job, and if you own the clinic it's a gold-shitting goose, but there are a lot of them who are genuinely trying to do good.
> It's almost as if they think of methadone patients as less than human, creatures whose lives are not of value.
This is 100% what one friend who's going through methadone treatment says. They don't even want to get them off of methadone either. He had to fight to even begin going down, and he was on it at 2 years at this point. He'll be in "rehab" for 5 years early next year, and the dose is about 1/3 what it was when he started.
GABAergenics in general are pretty much the sole class of popular recreational drug which have a very real possibility of lethal withdrawals.
In the case of alcohol, it often takes years for addicts to reach a point where withdrawal becomes lethal. In the case of short acting benzodiazepines/barbiturates, this point can be reached in less than a month.
Of course, benzodiazepines are in schedule IV, which means they are viewed as being rather benign with no/low potential for abuse. In the eyes of the federal government, alprazolam (xanax) is far less dangerous than marijuana/the traditional psychedelics.
Just another data point demonstrating the utter absurdity of US drug legislation and regulation.
That's what I had heard, but I was uncomfortable making a stronger statement without more knowledge.
If one wishes to cease benzodiazepine usage, they effectively are forced to slowly taper over time period that can potentially take years. If one were to "cold turkey" after a multi-year long period of heavy benzodiazepine use, assuming they survived with no other long term damage, their severe-moderate withdrawal symptoms would still be apparent after several months. These include, but not limited to, constant paranoia/panic attacks, constant visible parkinson-like shaking, SEVERE unceasing insomnia, etc.
I've only elaborated on the withdrawal aspect of benzodiazepines as well. They are capable of causing far more harm than simply their lethal withdrawals. User behavior, synergistic effects on respiratory depression, etc.