ABSTRACT
“Women’s Prescription Sedative-Hypnotic Abuse,” discusses prescription sedative-hypnotics that are commonly abused by women—the benzodiazepines (e.g., lorazepam, Ativan®, “Zzz”) and the z-drugs (e.g., zolpidem, Ambien®, “Tic Tacs”). The use of these drugs, which are prescribed primarily for the symptomatic relief of a variety of anxiety and sleep disorders, is not as noticeable because their use, unlike other drugs and substances of abuse among women (e.g., cocaine; heroin; methamphetamine), generally is hidden among older women, particularly those in residential care, who do not garner the attention or headlines that other women do. This form of harmful drug use is often directly related to the over-prescription of sedative-hypnotics (e.g., alprazolam [Xanax®]; zolpidem [Ambien®]) by physicians for both middle-aged and older women. Thus, it is often referred to as “iatrogenic drug use”—in a similar way to that which occurs, to a significant extent, in the context of prescription opiate analgesic abuse (for related discussion, see Chapter 1, Women’s Opiate Analgesic Abuse).
