Today prescription drugs are prescribed every day for pain, mental, emotional, or other illnesses. They are given a set of directions from the doctor for how much and how long to take them. After the prescribed dosage is up, the user is supposed to stop taking the drug for that initial incident. Some patients get dependent on the drug whether they had more refills than necessary or they took more than the recommended dosage.
What is Xanax?
One very popular prescribed drug is Xanax, which is a brand name for alprazolam. Xanax is a powerful benzodiazepine or benzo that is only recommended for use for up to six weeks. This drug usually is for those who suffer from anxiety and get relief when used as prescribed. According to the National Health Statistics Reports during 2014–2016, benzodiazepines were prescribed at approximately 65.9 million office-based physician visits. The rates for women being prescribed the drug were also higher than the men (at 34 visits per 100 women). Some of those that get dependent on Xanax may have never been addicted to a substance before. They may just happen to think since the prescribed dosage worked so well that taking more couldn’t hurt. This is where it can become very dangerous due to the fact benzos only take about a month or less to become dependent upon. They don’t realize they’re addicted to it till it’s too late. Then there may be those who maybe are taking it for fun. Got them from a friend or found them in their parent’s medicine cabinet. College students are especially at risk for dependency since their rate of abuse for these drugs has peaked in recent years. SAMHSA notes those rates are higher among individuals with mental illness, too, touting 31.6 percent of college students who abused prescription drugs in 2010 had a mental health disorder, compared to 15 percent of those who did not have a mental health disorder. Sometimes Xanax is abused with other drugs and especially is common to use to come down off of uppers such as cocaine or ecstasy.
Why Are People Snorting Xanax?
The Xanax medication is meant to be swallowed, however, people often use other methods of administration. When a tolerance has been made to the drug and there is a need for a more intense higher high, many drug users believe that crushing and snorting Xanax will produce faster and more intense effects than if they were to swallow the drug. However, this is not true and there is no evidence that Xanax snorting causes the drug to hit the bloodstream any faster than swallowing it does. Most Xanax tablets are instant release and reach the bloodstream in around 30 – 45 minutes when taken orally. When crushing up the pill and snorting it, expecting a quicker onset of the side effects of the drug, you are in for a letdown. The makeup of the pill does not absorb through the mucus membranes in your nose properly therefore, the drug effectiveness is very low. Snorting Xanax is a waste of time and is not effective at all. This happening on many occasions, if not understood, can lead to taking more Xanax due to the user may be thinking they have a tolerance.
Side Effects from Snorting Xanax
Even though it has little to no effect, snorting any type of drug is dangerous. Inhaling crushed powders that are intended to be swallowed can severely damage the nasal cavity, leading to:
- Increased risk of infection
- Risk of developing immune disorders
- Fungal infections
- Inflammation and irritation in the nasal cavity
- Impaired or blocked nasal airways
- Erosion of the inside of the nose
- Reduced or loss of sense of smell
- Sinus infections
- Lung infections
Get the Help You Need for Xanax Addiction
If you or someone you know is crushing and snorting Xanax, it’s time for professional treatment, and Evoke Wellness at Cohasset can help. When you make the safe choice to detox at our Massachusetts medical detox facility, you can be sure that you will be safe and comfortable during such an uncertain time in your life. Our main goal is to make this detox process as safe as possible. While it is important to get the drugs from your system physically, it is also important to mentally get yourself healthy as well. On top of your personalized medically assisted detox; you will also be involved with individual and group therapy sessions with our experienced and informational behavioral health technicians. We want to make sure you re-equipped with the knowledge to stay healthy and sober when you reenter the real world.
