Flualprazolam
Flualprazolam is a designer benzodiazepine, a fluorinated analogue of alprazolam (Xanax). It has never been a licensed medicine and appeared on the research-chemical market and in counterfeit alprazolam tablets in the late 2010s. It is potent, sedating and strongly implicated in polydrug deaths across Europe and North America.
01 Overview
Structurally flualprazolam adds a fluorine atom to alprazolam, and it behaves as a potent GABA-A positive allosteric modulator with a pharmacological profile broadly resembling its parent but with reports of greater potency and longer duration. There are essentially no human pharmacokinetic or safety studies; knowledge derives from forensic case series, poison-centre reports and seized-material analyses.
Because it has been pressed into fake 'Xanax' bars, users are frequently unaware they are taking it, and dosing is unpredictable. It has been detected in a large and growing number of overdose deaths, almost always alongside opioids, where additive respiratory depression is the mechanism of harm.
02 Mechanism
Positive allosteric modulator at the GABA-A benzodiazepine site; fluorination of the alprazolam scaffold is associated with high potency.
03 Dosing
| Tier | Dose | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Threshold | 0.1–0.25 mg | Oral | Active at sub-milligram doses; hard to measure accurately without a scale. |
| Common | 0.25–0.75 mg | Oral | Potency and duration reportedly exceed alprazolam; anecdotal ranges only. |
04 Effects
| Effect | Magnitude | Evidence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiolysis and sedationReduction of anxiety with marked drowsiness and hypnosis. | Anecdotal | ||
| Muscle relaxationSkeletal muscle relaxation typical of the class. | Anecdotal | ||
| EuphoriaMild euphoria and disinhibition reported as a motive for misuse. | Anecdotal |
05 Side effects
| Effect | Severity | Frequency | Evidence | Countermeasures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amnesia and blackoutsMemory loss and blackout behaviour with impaired judgement, compounded by uncertain tablet content. | Moderate | Common at higher doses | Anecdotal | |
| Dependence and withdrawalPhysical dependence develops quickly; abrupt cessation risks rebound anxiety, insomnia and seizures. Cross-tolerant with all benzodiazepines. | Severe | Universal with regular use | Observational | |
| Respiratory depression in combinationDetected in numerous overdose fatalities, nearly always with opioids; additive respiratory depression is the lethal mechanism. | Life-threatening | Common in polydrug deaths | Observational |