Chairs and Members of the Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Massachusetts Legislature

Dear Friends:

The Benzodiazepine Information Coalition asked me to send you a letter in support of Bill H.3594 that I understand you are considering.

I am a research physician. Over more than 30 years, I have studied the risks of sleeping pills in over 2 million study participants and I have published scientific papers about the risks of sleeping pills that have been cited in the medical literature over 1200 times. My nonprofit web site www.DarkSideOfSleepingPills.com has been accessed by over 100,000 people every year. Evidence about the risks of sleeping pills has been growing very rapidly in recent years, obliging me to continue speaking out. You may have noticed in today’s New York Times that opioid-related overdose deaths increased remarkably in 2016 to a new record, but you may not realize that benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine agonists seem to be joint causes of about one third of these deaths. Part of the scientific reasons are explained in my recent paper available on the internet at http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.8729.2.

The public information and warnings proposed in Bill H.3594 are very important to try to save lives. I have noted that although the FDA announced last August that benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine agonists such as the most popular sleeping pills (zolpidem, temazepam, and eszopiclone) greatly increase the risks of opiate overdoses, and the FDA said it would require “black box” warnings on the prescribing information for these medications, I have seen no black box warnings appearing on prescribing information for zolpidem or eszopiclone. This makes Bill H.3594 especially important.

Sincerely,

Daniel F. Kripke, M.D.

Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, UCSD

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Daniel F. Kripke, M.D. is a licensed physician certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. He also has done research with the Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Center.  Dr. Kripke was elected a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, co-authored hundreds of medical articles and has given invited lectures in 18 countries. In 1973, Dr. Kripke established one of the first sleep clinics in the United States.  He treated patients with sleep disorders until retirement from his clinical practice at age 70.  Dr. Kripke continues to be active as a researcher and as an advocate for raising awareness of the dangers associated with sleeping pills, particularly hypnotic drugs.
Dr. Kripke’s research has shown that hypnotic drugs, especially certain benzodiazepines and Z drugs with similar actions on the brain, have the potential to cause infection, depression, and are associated with increased risk of death and cancer.  Dr. Kripke’s desire in joining Benzodiazepine Information Coalition is to inform the public about the grave risks of these drugs.

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3 Comments

  1. Thank You Dr. Kripke
    My name is BethAnn and I was Severely Injured by long-standing use of Benzodiazepines. I am into much pain at this time to tell my story. It is very long story that began in 1989, when I was prescribed Xanax.

    I now have CRPS and lupus. I am currently going through and agonizing taper and a forced Taper at that. I am in excruciating pain every day since I slipped on ice in 2014. Because of the opioid epidemic, I am being forced to come off of benzodiazepines. I attempted suicide burning a self proclaimed taper from Klonopin. After going into a mental health unit, they brought me down another Mg then put me in a detox where I was treated like a drug addict. I Experienced depersonalization and hallucinations both auditory and visual. I have my Masters in social work and unfortunately I have not been able to work since the time of my graduation. I believed I could do the paperwork, because of the tremors and terrifying depression and rebounding anxiety. At the time I thought it was me. For the past thirty Years, I believed I was too emotionally unstable. I did not know it was because of the medication. Dear doctor, I refuse to kill myself over this, because I have far too much to live for. Am I angry? Oh my God I am so angry
    The Doctor Who prescribed this medication to me, dropped me as his patient when my tolerance went up. Recently I googled this person to find that he had done this to other patients and his license is suspended. I will never forget the times when I visited him asking for a therapist referral. He refused , Stating that all I needed was Xanax and Prozac and to speak with him
    as my counselor. I continually read his suspension, and I know this is it healthy for me. I have never felt such content and sadness in my life was taken from me . Of course this has affected my entire family, I left my husband and for years my sister and I did not speak. There must be something I can do to help others do not pick up that first pill. Again thank you for the work you are doing . Be Well! If you needed someone to help with Editing and Research, please consider contacting me. I am practically home bound at a young age of 59.

    BethAnn

    Reply

    1. This is BethAnn Shoenfeld again. There are many typos in my comment above. I hope people can see through them. Thanks
      Beth

      Reply

    2. Hi I am so sorry your experiencing this suffering, as I am too. Not with opioid but benzodiazopine. Its very scary and intolerable unnecessary suffering from psychological pain. I will pray for you. I too had suicide attempt on life support for 7 days. Time we speak up!!

      Reply