Pa. AG Dave Sunday signs letter calling on DEA to ban ‘designer Xanax’

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is calling on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a joint letter to take emergency action to schedule a drug that has been linked to deaths in the state and across the country.

Bromazolam is described in the letter penned by Sunday and 20 other state attorneys general as a “designer Xanax.” The prosecutors say the drug is increasingly contributing to overdose deaths and posing a growing threat to public health in Pennsylvania and beyond. It is also highly potent and unpredictable, Sunday’s office writes, especially when mixed with opioids. Narcan, which is used to reverse an overdose, is ineffective against the drug in such emergencies.

Bromazolam is unscheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

“Despite its clear dangers, bromazolam remains unscheduled at the federal level, creating significant challenges for law enforcement and public health officials trying to respond to this emerging crisis,” the attorneys generals wrote. “Without scheduling, this drug continues to evade traditional regulatory and prosecutorial tools, hindering interdiction efforts and enabling continued distribution through illicit channels.”

“Taking emergency action to schedule bromazolam will help law enforcement remove it from circulation, give prosecutors the tools to hold traffickers accountable, and send a clear signal that this dangerous substance has no place on our streets,” the attorneys general wrote.

Sunday said that “designer” benzodiazepines, such as bromazolam, surfaced in Pennsylvania in 2022 and contributed to 59 overdose deaths that year. Data from the state Department of Health showed that the number of deaths nearly tripled one year later, according to the joint letter.

“It is a race to stay ahead of drug traffickers when dealing with synthetic drugs, and lives depend on immediate action that will give law enforcement the tools to proactively target traffickers,” Sunday said. “This substance has no legitimate purpose, and is becoming far too common in Pennsylvania and across the nation.”

Sunday, who was sworn into office in January, has joined other coalitions of attorneys general on various letters and lawsuits. Earlier this month, he teamed with 50 attorneys general in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to assist in addressing illegal offshore gaming and gambling across the country.