Oklahoma’s Bureau of Narcotics Takes Action to Outlaw Illicit Sedatives

 

Keeping dangerous drugs off the street sometimes requires changing a state’s laws. That’s because chemists operating illegal labs can devise drugs that aren’t yet banned by a state’s current laws. For law enforcement to be able to seize these new drugs and arrest dealers, legislation must declare those drugs illegal. That was the subject of action taken recently by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, as described by their spokesman, Mark Woodward.

When addressing the media on February 28, 2026, Woodward explained that certain chemicals that were not yet illegal were being used to make new illicit sedatives. “We want to outlaw [these chemicals] as soon as we can, so if we catch someone with them, they can’t say, ‘You can’t touch me,’”

As soon as this latest crop of new illicit drugs is banned, law enforcement can start taking them off the street. The chemicals targeted by the OBN action are used to make illicit forms of sedatives called designer benzodiazepines.

What Are Designer Benzodiazepines?

A benzodiazepine or benzo is an anti-anxiety medication used to treat panic attacks and sleep problems. The term designer refers to synthetic drugs that are chemically modified, illicit versions of existing, approved drugs, created mainly to mimic their effects while avoiding existing drug‑control laws.

In this case, the illicit drug labs are mimicking legitimate benzodiazepines like these:

• Alprazolam – trade name: Xanax
• Diazepam – trade name: Valium
• Lorazepam – trade name: Ativan
• Clonazepam – trade name: Klonopin
• Temazepam – trade name: Restoril

The most popular designer benzodiazepines on the illicit market are:

• Etizolam
• Clonazolam
• Diclazepam
• Flualprazolam
• Bromazolam

However, these drugs are not manufactured in sanitary, controlled laboratories. There is no oversight of quality or potency. The drugs are manufactured in China and shipped to drug traffickers who move the drugs into America. This manufacturing-trafficking route has long been used to bring addictive substances into this country.

Designer Benzodiazepines Found in Fentanyl, Pills and Other Drugs

Because these drugs are being manufactured and distributed by unscrupulous dealers, they are often mixed into other drugs or pressed into counterfeit pharmaceutical products. Mixtures of fentanyl-benzos are common, as are methamphetamine-benzo mixes. Pills that look like Xanax are also common.

“When you add anything to fentanyl, which is already deadly and dangerous enough, you can also inhibit the ability of Narcan to be effective.”

“When you add anything to fentanyl,” Woodward said, “which is already deadly and dangerous enough, you can also inhibit the ability of Narcan to be effective.”

Narcan is the brand name for the opioid antidote naloxone, which is used to reverse an overdose of heroin, fentanyl or other opioids. Both opioids and sedatives like benzodiazepines slow a person’s breathing, and an overdose of either can cause death. However, naloxone will not reverse the effects of sedatives. Emergency medical personnel may have no idea which drugs an overdosing person has taken. In fact, the person themselves may not know.

Benzos and Opioids Together Can Be Particularly Deadly

A person obtaining pills from the internet or buying what they think is heroin or fentanyl from a dealer could end up consuming these designer benzos. Some individuals using designer benzos are winding up in the emergency room or the morgue. In one instance, three children ended up in the hospital after consuming Pez candies that actually contained designer benzodiazepines.

If you care for someone who is using pills or other drugs obtained from street dealers, you may save their life by helping them find a drug rehab program. Spending time in a good rehab facility can help them break this life-threatening habit.

The Narconon Arrowhead rehab center in Canadian, Oklahoma, has been offering a long-term, residential rehab program since 2001 to provide a path out of addiction for Oklahomans and thousands of other Americans. Once individuals break free from addiction, they can then enjoy the greater safety of sobriety.

Sources:

• “OBN pushed to ban new black-market chemicals.” KSWO, 2026. KSOW
• “Designer Benzodiazepines.” University of Virginia Medical School, 2025. UVA
• “2020 National Drug Threat Assessment.” Drug Enforcement Administration, 2020. DEA
• “ONIC Warns of ‘tranq-dope,’ ‘benzo-dope’ in Ohio’s Illicit Drug Supply.” Hometown Stations, 2024. Hometown Stations
• “A postmortem case report involving fentanyl, desalkylgidazepam, and bromazolam.” Oxford Academic, 2024. Oxford Academic
• “‘Pressed’ Etizolam.” The Journal of Pediatrics, 2021. The Journal of Pediatrics