Coroner’s urgent plea over deadly fake Xanax, “street benzodiazepines”
After Raymond Flaherty was found dead by a neighbor in the living room of his Melbourne flat, police found a discarded plastic bottle labeled “Xanax” next to his lifeless body.
Before his death in February last year, a friend of the 57-year-old told police that Flaherty, who had been struggling with health problems and drug addiction for years, had “smashed” and “drank” bottles of Xanax which he had apparently bought online.
Xanax is the brand name for alprazolam, a highly potent benzodiazepine commonly used for anxiety and insomnia.
Raymond Flaherty is seen as a young man in the photo with his mother Kaye Flaherty and sister Carley.
But Victorian coroner Ingrid Giles, who examined the proud Wurundjeri man’s death, strongly suspected the “Xanax” tablets seized from the Fitzroy North unit were not what they seemed. Instead, they were part of a trend of synthetic benzodiazepines, or “street benzos,” that has been linked to a steady increase in accidental drug overdoses.
Giles ordered the pills to be sent to the Victoria Forensic Science Institute for testing.
The institute found the Melbourne father-of-one unknowingly consumed counterfeit Xanax tablets containing bromazolam, a powerful and potentially fatal sedative that has never been approved for medical use anywhere in the world.
No trace of alprazolam was found in the tablets Flaherty took.
Flaherty was found dead in the living room of his home by a neighbor.
In his findings, Giles demanded that the state government take immediate action to address the emerging threat posed by the increase in counterfeit prescription pills flooding the illicit drug market.
“I consider such circumstances to present unique and urgent public health risks that require urgent intervention from the Victorian Health Secretary,” he said.
Flaherty’s case comes as overdoses from counterfeit or synthetic benzodiazepines are on the rise. The first overdose death confirmed to be caused by such drugs in the Victorian era occurred in 2015. There were 10 deaths linked to synthetic benzodiazepines in 2019. This figure was 40 in 2022, 33 in 2023 and 35 last year. This year’s data is still being compiled by the Forensic Medicine Court.
Concerns about bromazolam, which causes hospitalizations and deaths, are increasing across the country after traces of the banned psychoactive substance were detected in cocaine as well as in fake Xanax and Valium tablets.
One person dead, two taken to hospital in NSW in January this year After taking cocaine, he was found to contain bromazolam. This year in Canberra Bromazolam was also detected A batch of counterfeit benzodiazepine tablets prompts a warning from health officials.
To date, 16 different synthetic benzodiazepines have been identified as contributing to overdose deaths in Victoria.
Just a few days ago the Victorian Pill Testing Service sent out an alert that heroin had been detected in counterfeit Xanax tablets.
Raymond Flaherty’s family backed recommendations from Giles, who called on the Victorian Department of Health secretary to appoint the chief addiction medicine adviser to immediately investigate the risks posed by the increased availability of illegal and counterfeit benzodiazepines.
Flaherty’s sister, Carley Flaherty, said her brother was deeply loved, proud of his Native heritage, kind and funny and struggled to overcome drug addiction for most of his life.
He adored his mother, Kaye Flaherty, and his white and brown spotted papillon dog, Munchie, who was always with him.
“He was like a father figure to my youngest son, and I looked up to him my entire life,” his sister said. “We are so devastated.”
Flaherty (left to right) with her mother Kaye; nephew Tye; sister Carley; and nephew Jack.
In the months before his death, Raymond became estranged from his family and friends as he fell back into the grip of drug use, she said.
Carley said his family was saddened to learn that after his death he was banned from practicing as a regular chemist due to his erratic behavior. That meant he couldn’t buy the prescription group diazepam, commonly known by the brand name Valium.
“I think that might be part of the reason why he went online to buy these pills,” he said.
A plan was made for a new pharmacy to dispense diazepam to him, but his longtime doctor’s attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
His sister said his friend, who found him dead in his Fitzroy North flat months after his death and tried to resuscitate him, also died of an overdose after taking pills he bought online.
“If speaking out can help people better understand how terrible these drugs really are and help save one person, that will give me some comfort after losing Raymond,” she said.
Raymond Flaherty’s death was found to have been caused by a mixture of drugs, including heroin, antidepressants and the lethal effects of bromazolam, found in counterfeit Xanax tablets.
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Pennington Institute chief executive John Ryan said illicit benzodiazepines were gaining prominence in Australia and globally and were increasingly used recreationally or as anti-anxiety and sleep aids.
“This doesn’t just touch people who have traditionally been consumers of illicit drugs, it touches people from all walks of life,” Ryan said, adding that with tightening regulations on prescription drugs there has been an alarming shift in people consuming counterfeit pills.
He said it may create a false sense of security because the pills are often labeled as diazepam or Xanax, but in reality people have no idea of the danger of what they are consuming.
“This is a Wild West market and we are flying blind because it is a relatively new but important problem,” he said.
“The drug market continues to change much faster than the policy response. We’ve seen this huge increase in the availability of illicit benzos, but we haven’t yet seen the same kind of response from the service system.”
Research from the Pennington Institute found that benzodiazepines are quickly becoming one of the leading contributors to overdoses nationwide, causing more accidental deaths than alcohol, heroin or cocaine.
In his finding earlier this month, coroner Giles called on the government to consider developing a health strategy to reach people using counterfeit benzodiazepines and educate them about the fatal risks.
He also called on the government to consult specialist services, including Reconnexion, Australia’s only specialist benzodiazepine addiction treatment programme, which had its funding cut last year.
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Earlier this year it was revealed the number of Victorians dying from drug overdoses had risen to a 10-year high. a turning point moment for the state’s drug policy.
Data showed 584 Victorians died from overdoses last year; this was an increase of 37 deaths compared to 2023.
A Victorian health department spokesman said the government was tackling the harm of drugs by producing a $95 million statewide action plan to expand access to treatment.
“Overdose deaths are a terrible tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Raymond Flaherty’s family and community following his passing,” the spokesperson said.
“We know more needs to be done to save lives and provide more people with the support they need, and we will carefully consider the coroner’s findings and recommendations.”
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