Nonmedical Abuse of Benzodiazepines in Opiate-Dependent Patients in Tehran, Iran

Ôbjective: the purpose of the present preliminary study was to explore the prevalence of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines in a group of opiate-dependent patients who were on methadone maintenance treatment (mmt) program in outpatient clinics in the south-west of tehran, ïran.methods: 114 male and female opiate-dependent clients who met dsm.ïv-tr criteria for opiate dependence with mean age 36.5 years participated in the study from 16 clinics and completed a self-report questionnaire on demographics and substance use details. then the participants were interviewed on the details of nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines.results: the study findings indicated that the current nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines was commonly prevalent among participants. the most common current benzodiazepines abused were alprazolam (100%) followed by chlordiazepoxide (96.5%), clonazepam (94.7%), diazepam (86.8%), lorazepam (79.8%) and oxazepam (73.7%) respectively. depression (77%) and anxiety (72.8%) were frequently reported as the most important reasons associated with consuming benzodiazepines followed by problem in anger control (44.7%), suicide thought (12.3%), self-injury (7.9%), and suicide commitment (5.3%) respectively.çonclusion: nonmedical abuse of benzodiazepines is an important problem among opiate addicts which should be considered in treatment interventions during mmt program