Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction: Prescription Sedatives

This a summary of the use of prescription sedatives, i.e. benzodiazepines, Z-drugs and barbituates, in Canada, as of July 2017.

Key Points

The use of prescription sedatives among the Canadian general population is about 10% and has remained relatively stable since 2008.

In Canada, the rate of prescription sedative use is highest among older adults.

The prevalence of prescription sedative use in Canada is double for females compared to males (about 14% compared to about 7%). 

There is little Canadian data available on the harms associated with prescription sedatives use.

http://www.ccsa.ca/Resource%20Library/CCSA-Canadian-Drug-Summary-Prescription-Sedatives-2017-en.pdf