Project aims
We set out to understand how benzodiazepines or z-drugs and opioids work together and why this makes a fatal overdose more likely.
What did we do?
We interviewed 48 people who use opioids and benzodiazepines or z-drugs in Scotland, Bristol and Teesside. We spoke to people about how and why they use the two types of drugs together, what effects they have and what role they have played in their overdose experiences.
What did we learn?
We learnt that co-using benzodiazepines or z-drugs and opioids can happen separately or simultaneously. It can be accidental or intentional.
How people use benzodiazepines or z-drugs and opioids
We identified six patterns:
- To sleep or come down
- Curated co-use
- Morning and evening benzodiazepines or z-drugs with variable opioid use
- Binges
- Co-use throughout the day
- Benzodiazepines or z-drugs throughout the day plus drug treatment
Across all the patterns people described using benzodiazepines to manage mental health conditions.
Most people saw the effects and risks of benzodiazepines or z-drugs and opioids as separate. Overdoses were mostly reported by those using benzodiazepines or z-drugs throughout the day and binging.
What we hope to achieve:
We want to provide evidence-based solutions to minimise harm and reduce preventable deaths. Our findings are informing lab-based experiments aimed at understanding the pharmacological mechanisms of why benzodiazepine and opioid use has such a high risk. We have also spoken to professionals who work with people who use benzodiazepine or z-drugs and opioids to develop new, appropriate ways to reduce the harm of co-use.
Partners
- (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC West)
- University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.
- Centre for Academic Primary Care
Lead researchers
Further reading:
News story
Papers
- A qualitative study of benzodiazepine/z-drug and opioid co-use patterns and overdose risk
- Motivations underlying co-use of benzodiazepines and opioids in the UK: a qualitative study
