DEA adds ‘Designer Xanax’ to nationwide ban after nearly 50 Kentucky deaths

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A drug that officials say has contributed to the deaths of nearly 50 Kentuckians is now nationally banned.

According to a release by the Office of Attorney General Russell Coleman, this week, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration formally added bromazolam “to a federal schedule of controlled substances.”

This designation allows law enforcement across the U.S. to crack down on the drug while increasing awareness of its potentially deadly effects, officials say.

Last year, Coleman’s office says he led a coalition that included 21 states to have the substance designated as a schedule I drug.

The drug, also called “Designer Xanax,” can be passed off as prescription pills normally used to treat anxiety disorders, insomnia and seizures, officials say.

Bromazolam is sold both on the street and online, officials say, and it’s proven to be “highly potent and even lethal, especially combined with opioids or other central nervous system depressants.”

“Through zealous collaboration among our outstanding partners in Kentucky law enforcement, health officials and the Trump Administration, we’ve successfully banned bromazolam nationwide,” Coleman said. “We must continue to run faster to counter the deadly drug threat, and I’m grateful to all those who helped protect Kentucky families.”

The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy reported 48 overdose deaths in 2024 involving bromazolam, officials say.