Study,Jul/18:Prescribed sedative & other psychotropic medication - alcohol trtmt

The full title of this Australia/New Zealand study is "Prescribed sedative and other psychotropic medication use among clients attending alcohol and other drug treatment".

"RESULTS:  At baseline, 41% of participants reported prescribed sedative medication (benzodiazepine, zopiclone or zolpidem) use within the past month, including prescriptions to treat withdrawal symptoms. At follow-up, the cohort reported a reduced rate of past month prescribed sedative use (23%; P < 0.001) and this rate did not significantly differ between those who continued to use their primary drug of concern and those who were abstinent at follow-up (P = 0.08). Among those with opioids as their primary drug of concern, one-third were still being prescribed a sedative at follow-up (P > 0.99 for change from baseline). At baseline, 40% of participants were prescribed an antidepressant and 13% an antipsychotic medication, which remained similar at follow-up (45% and 13%, respectively). 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:  The high level of prescribed sedative drug use reported by people receiving AOD treatment is a serious public health concern given the increasing incidence of drug overdose deaths in Australia."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29984497