Setting the Record Straight on Long-Term Use, Dose Escalation, and Potential Misuse of Prescription Benzodiazepines
The potential for misuse of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine-related drugs (hereafter, BZRAs) has been a source of controversy for over five decades. These medications can be used for patients with anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, and seizure disorders (1). They are commonly coprescribed with antidepressants and antipsychotic medications to treat the associated anxiety and sleep disturbances of these psychiatric disorders. When carefully prescribed to patients who are not substance abusers, benzodiaze