Xanax Addiction

A) Xanax is prescription tranquilizer which depresses
the nervous system in a way similar to alcohol.

Q)
How is Xanax used?

A)
Xanax when abused is taken orally, chewed, crushed (then
snorted like cocaine), or crushed (then dissolved in water
and injected like heroin).

Q)
What are the effects of Xanax addiction?

A)
Xanax has depressant effects on brain areas that regulate wakefulness
and alertness, very similar in effect to alcohol and sedative
barbiturates. They enhance the action of receptors that inhibit
central nervous system stimulation, and conversely, inhibit
the action of receptors that stimulate the nervous system. In
other words, if the nervous system were a car, these drugs help
press down the brakes but make it harder to press down on the
gas.

• difficulty
  concentrating
• “floating”
  or disconnected sensation
• depressed
  heartbeat
• depressed
  breathing
• excessive
  sleep and sleepiness
• mental
  confusion and memory loss
• addiction

Q)
What are the symptoms of withdrawal?

A)
Essentially, withdrawal symptoms for the tranquilizers feel
like the opposite of the therapeutic effects. The short-acting
benzodiazapines (Xanax, Halcion, Restoril, Ativan, and Serax)
can produce especially severe withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms,
that are similar to those in alcohol withdrawal, include jittery,
shaky feelings and any of the following:

• rapid
  heartbeat
• shaky
  hands
• insomnia
  or disturbed sleep
• sweating
• irritability
• anxiety
  and agitation

Q)
What is Xanax addiction?

A) The
tranquilizer, which was introduced in 1973, can become psychologically
and physically addictive if taken in high doses for longer than
eight weeks. Therefore, it should be – and usually is – prescribed
as a temporary solution for people with stress and anxiety disorders,
doctors say.

But while addiction is Xanax’s primary risk, there’s another
breed of abuser out there. Like other pharmaceuticals such as
OxyContin and Ritalin, Xanax has found its way from pharmacies
to drug dealers, and is being abused by young, healthy people
who want to get high. These club-hopping, twentysomething, casual
“Xannie poppers” are using the drug in combination with other
stimulants, from booze to cocaine.

Q)
How offten is Xanax abused?

A)
It
is estimated that in 1999, 4 million people were currently using
prescription drugs non-medically. Nearly 5 million people have
at one point taken Xanax or a similar anti-anxiety medication
for nonmedicinal reasons, according to a 2000 survey conducted
by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Possession of a prescription drug without proof of a prescription
is a felony.

More
than 22,000 Xanax-related emergency-room visits were reported
in the United States in 2000, up from 16,000 seven years before,
according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.

For More Information about Xanax Abuse, please use our Addiction Help Line.