This study describes twelve cases of drivers stopped for impaired driving, where a designer benzodiazepine was detected, specifically etizolam or flubromazolam. Etizolam was detected in three cases, with blood concentrations ranging from 40 to 330 ng/mL. Two of these cases had low concentrations of methamphetamine and/or amphetamine, and in the third case tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] was detected. Flubromazolam was detected in nine cases; in all cases, at least one other drug was detected, with THC being the most prevalent. The mean blood concentration of flubromazolam was 16.3 ng/mL and had a median concentration of 17.0 ng/mL, ranging from 7.0 to 31 ng/mL. The low concentrations of designer benzodiazepines that produce pharmacological effects may allow many of these drugs to go undetected using routine testing in laboratories; therefore, it is necessary to include these novel compounds within validated analytical methods to reduce the chance of reporting false negative results. The prevalence in which laboratories are detecting the presence of novel benzodiazepines in impaired drivers illustrates the increased threat to public safety. These case studies demonstrates the importance of investigating agencies and forensic laboratories to be vigilant in monitoring the emerging novel psychoactive substances [NPS] in their region.

中文翻译：

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涉及依替唑仑和氟溴唑仑的驾驶障碍案件。

这项研究描述了十二名驾驶员因驾驶不便而停车的情况，其中发现了设计师苯二氮卓类药物，特别是依替唑仑或氟溴唑拉姆。在三例患者中检出了依替唑仑，血药浓度范围为40至330 ng / mL。这些案例中有两个案例的甲基苯丙胺和/或苯丙胺浓度较低，而在第三案例中，检测到四氢大麻酚[THC]。氟溴唑仑检出9例；在所有情况下，至少检测到另一种药物，其中四氢大麻酚是最流行的。氟溴唑仑的平均血药浓度为16.3 ng / mL，中位浓度为17.0 ng / mL，范围为7.0至31 ng / mL。产生药理作用的低浓度名牌苯二氮卓类药物，可能使许多药物在实验室中无法通过常规检测被发现；因此，必须将这些新化合物包括在经过验证的分析方法中，以减少报告假阴性结果的机会。实验室检测到驾驶员中新出现的苯二氮卓类药物的流行表明了对公共安全的威胁日益增加。这些案例研究表明，调查机构和法医实验室必须保持警惕，以监视其区域内正在出现的新型精神活性物质[NPS]。