In a sea of stress more and more people are turning to Xanax to treat their anxiety.
Also known as Alprazolam, it’s the 11th most prescribed drug in the United States, but you often don’t need a doctor to get it.
22-year-old “Nick” is a recovering Xanax addict.
In addition to getting them at parties, he says he also would get prescriptions for hundreds of Xanax pills from doctors.
“All you have to do is walk into a doctor’s office and say you have anxiety, at least that’s what I did and it was written to me,” he says.
Nick says he knew he had to kick the drug when he took Xanax, blacked out while driving and seriously injured three people.
“It’s sobering to know my actions caused innocent people great bodily injury,” he now says.
Doctors warn weaning off the drug has serious risks too.
“It’s so much easier to take people off heroin. I’d rather take 100 people off heroin than one person of Xanax because I know they’ll have a year of withdrawal,” says addiction specialist Dr. Jerry Callaway.
Dr. Calloway considers Xanax one of the most dangerous drugs he deals with.
“You take away the suppressant drug and your system overshoots, increasing electrical activity in your brain is extremely uncomfortable and can kill you with seizures or strokes,” he explains.
In addition, he says Xanax can be deadly when combined with other drugs.
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