Diclazepam (also known as chlorodiazepam or 2'-chloro-diazepam) is a long-acting benzodiazepine first synthesized by Leo Sternbach at Roche in the 1960s but never developed into a pharmaceutical product. It is structurally related to diazepam, differing by the addition of a chlorine atom at the 2'-position of the phenyl ring. Like diazepam, it produces broad-spectrum benzodiazepine effects — anxiolysis, sedation, muscle relaxation, and anticonvulsant activity — but with a substantially longer duration of action and a complex metabolic profile that includes the production of active metabolites, notably delorazepam, that significantly extend its pharmacological duration.
Diclazepam entered the research chemical market in the early 2010s and has been used recreationally and by those seeking to manage withdrawal from other benzodiazepines or GABAergic substances. Community experience on Reddit includes at least six posts discussing its use, with accounts ranging from self-managed detoxification from tianeptine and opioids to recreational use for anxiety. The very long half-life of diclazepam — estimated at 42+ hours, with active metabolites extending activity further — makes it particularly problematic for recreational use: cumulative accumulation with repeated dosing can produce profound sedation days after use, making dose titration genuinely dangerous.
Diclazepam has no established medical use, approved therapeutic dosing, or clinical safety data in humans. Its use carries all the risks of pharmaceutical benzodiazepines plus additional hazards from incomplete pharmacological characterization.
Safety at a Glance
High Risk- Understand Accumulation — Single Dosing Is Not Predictive of Multi-Day Use
- Extended Periods Between Doses
- Toxicity: Accumulation Risk The most critical toxicity concern with diclazepam is cumulative accumulation. Its extremely long h...
- Dangerous with: 1,4-Butanediol, 2M2B, Acetylfentanyl, Alcohol (+59 more)
- Overdose risk: overdose is a medical emergency that may lead to a coma, permanent brain injury or death if not t...
If someone is in crisis, call 911 or Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
Dosage
oral
Duration
oral
Total: 8 hrs – 12 hrsHow It Feels
Diclazepam is a study in subtlety. Its onset is so gradual that pinpointing the moment it begins working can feel like trying to identify the exact instant dawn becomes day. Over the course of an hour or more, a quiet calm settles into place, dismantling anxiety with the methodical patience of someone disassembling a machine piece by piece. The first thing you notice -- if you notice anything at all -- is that the background noise of worry has been turned down, the low-frequency hum of chronic apprehension fading into silence.
As the substance reaches its full concentration, the effects establish themselves with a gentle authority. There is a mild muscle relaxation, present but not dramatic, and a soothing warmth that spreads through the core of the body. The mind enters a state of measured calm: thoughts are clear and organized, but they have lost their anxious charge. This is the quality that distinguishes diclazepam from its more sedating relatives -- it calms without clouding, relaxes without incapacitating. You can work, converse, and navigate the world with only the faintest sense that something has changed. The change is in the emotional register: everything sounds the same, but the sharp notes have been rounded off.
At the peak, which can last for many hours due to the substance's long half-life, the experience is one of functional serenity. Anxiety is absent, replaced by a neutral equanimity that makes even stressful situations feel manageable. The body is relaxed but not heavy; coordination is preserved, and mental acuity is largely intact. There is no significant euphoria -- the reward here is practical rather than hedonistic, the satisfaction of being able to move through the day without the constant friction of anxiety. Some users describe it as feeling like their best, most confident self, stripped of the noise that usually interferes with clear thinking.
The offset mirrors the onset in its gradualism. The effects diminish so slowly that the return to baseline can take a full day or more, the calm evaporating molecule by molecule. There is no rebound, no crash, no morning-after regret. The experience leaves behind the faintest residue of tranquility, and many users describe it as the most invisible benzodiazepine they have encountered -- effective, reliable, and almost entirely lacking in the subjective fireworks that mark its more recreational cousins.
Subjective Effects
The effects listed below are based on the Subjective Effect Index (SEI), an open research literature based on anecdotal reports and personal analyses. They should be viewed with a healthy degree of skepticism. These effects will not necessarily occur in a predictable or reliable manner, although higher doses are more liable to induce the full spectrum of effects.
Physical Effects
Physical(7)
- Dehydration— A state of insufficient bodily hydration manifesting as persistent thirst, dry mouth, and physical d...
- Insomnia— A persistent inability to fall asleep or maintain sleep despite physical tiredness, often characteri...
- Motor control loss— A distinct decrease in the ability to control one's physical body with precision, balance, and coord...
- Muscle relaxation— The experience of muscles throughout the body losing their rigidity and tension, becoming noticeably...
- Respiratory depression— A dangerous slowing and shallowing of breathing that can progress from barely noticeable reductions ...
- Sedation— A state of deep physical and mental calming that manifests as a progressive desire to remain still, ...
- Seizure— Uncontrolled brain electrical activity causing convulsions and loss of consciousness -- a life-threa...
Cognitive & Perceptual Effects
Cognitive(9)
- Amnesia— A complete or partial inability to form new memories or recall existing ones during and after substa...
- Anxiety— Intense feelings of apprehension, worry, and dread that can range from a subtle background unease to...
- Confusion— An impairment of abstract thinking marked by a persistent inability to grasp or comprehend concepts ...
- Delirium— Delirium is a serious and potentially dangerous state of acute mental confusion involving disorienta...
- Delusion— A delusion is a fixed, false belief that is held with unshakeable certainty and is impervious to con...
- Depression— A persistent state of low mood, emotional numbness, hopelessness, and diminished interest or pleasur...
- Disinhibition— A marked reduction in social inhibitions, self-consciousness, and behavioral restraint that manifest...
- Panic attack— A panic attack is a discrete episode of acute, overwhelming fear or terror that arises suddenly and ...
- Thought deceleration— The experience of thoughts occurring at a markedly reduced pace, as if the mind has been placed into...
Pharmacology
Mechanism of Action
Diclazepam is a positive allosteric modulator of GABA-A receptors, binding to the benzodiazepine site at the α-γ subunit interface. This binding potentiates GABA-mediated chloride conductance, producing dose-dependent CNS depression spanning anxiolysis, sedation, muscle relaxation, and anticonvulsant activity through effects at α2/α3, α1, and brainstem GABA-A receptors respectively.
Structural Relationship to Diazepam
Diclazepam is a 2'-chloro derivative of diazepam. The addition of a chlorine atom at the 2' position of the phenyl ring increases lipophilicity and binding affinity relative to diazepam. It may be considered an analog of delorazepam (2'-chloro-nordazepam), to which it is demethylated during metabolism.
Active Metabolites and Duration
Diclazepam is metabolized in the liver to delorazepam (an active benzodiazepine with its own substantial half-life) and further to other metabolites. This metabolic cascade means that the pharmacological duration of a single diclazepam dose substantially exceeds what its own half-life would suggest:
- Diclazepam half-life: Estimated 42+ hours
- Delorazepam half-life: Approximately 80 hours
- Total effective duration of a single dose: Potentially 5–7 days
This prolonged action is the source of diclazepam's greatest clinical risk: accumulation with repeated doses is difficult to predict, and users may experience delayed onset of profound sedation hours to days after use.
Pharmacokinetics
Diclazepam is orally bioavailable. Onset of effects is approximately 30–90 minutes post-ingestion. The protracted half-life of both parent compound and active metabolites produces a very shallow offset of effects — effects diminish slowly over days rather than hours.
Detection Methods
Standard Drug Panel Inclusion
Diclazepam is NOT reliably detected on standard immunoassay drug panels. As a chlorinated analogue of diazepam, it shares some structural features with its parent compound, and some immunoassay platforms may produce weak positive results due to partial cross-reactivity. However, detection is inconsistent and unreliable. A negative immunoassay result does not rule out diclazepam use.
Urine Detection
Diclazepam has a long half-life estimated at 42 to 75 hours, producing extended urine detection windows of 7 to 14 days after a single dose. Chronic users may test positive for 3 to 4 weeks. The primary metabolites include delorazepam, lorazepam, and lormetazepam. Notably, diclazepam is metabolized to lorazepam, a prescribed benzodiazepine, which means that confirmatory testing may identify lorazepam as a metabolite even in individuals who have never taken lorazepam directly. This metabolic pathway complicates forensic interpretation. LC-MS/MS methods targeting the parent compound and its full metabolic profile are necessary for accurate results.
Blood and Serum Detection
Blood detection windows extend to 3 to 7 days due to the long half-life. Active blood concentrations range from 5 to 100 ng/mL. The extended presence in blood makes diclazepam more detectable in forensic blood analysis than many designer benzodiazepines with shorter half-lives.
Hair Follicle Detection
Hair analysis can detect diclazepam for up to 90 days. The long half-life and relatively higher doses compared to ultra-potent designer benzodiazepines improve hair incorporation rates.
Confirmatory Methods
LC-MS/MS provides definitive identification and quantification. The full metabolic pathway (diclazepam to delorazepam to lorazepam and lormetazepam) should be included in the analytical panel to accurately attribute metabolite findings to diclazepam use rather than prescribed medication use.
Reagent Testing
The Zimmermann reagent may produce a yellow-green color similar to diazepam. The Mandelin reagent may yield an olive-brown response. These reactions are not specific or reliable for identification. Fentanyl test strips are essential for any diclazepam obtained from unregulated sources.
Interactions
| Substance | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1,4-Butanediol | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| 2M2B | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Acetylfentanyl | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Alcohol | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Alprazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Atropa belladonna | Dangerous | Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure |
| Baclofen | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Benzodiazepines | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Buprenorphine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Cake | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Carisoprodol | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Clonazepam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Clonazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Clonidine | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Codeine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Datura | Dangerous | Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure |
| Deschloroetizolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Desomorphine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Dextropropoxyphene | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Diazepam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Dihydrocodeine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Diphenhydramine | Dangerous | Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure |
| Eszopiclone | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Ethylmorphine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Etizolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| F-Phenibut | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Fentanyl | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Flualprazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Flubromazepam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Flubromazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Flunitrazepam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Flunitrazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Gabapentin | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Gaboxadol | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| GBL | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| GHB | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Grayanotoxin | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Harmala alkaloid | Dangerous | Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Heroin | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Hydrocodone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Hydromorphone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Kratom | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Lorazepam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| MAOI | Dangerous | Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Mephenaqualone | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Methadone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Methaqualone | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Metizolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Midazolam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Mirtazapine | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Morphine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Myristicin | Dangerous | Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure |
| Naloxone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Nicotine | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Nifoxipam | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| O-Desmethyltramadol | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Oxycodone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Oxymorphone | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Peganum harmala | Dangerous | Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Pentobarbital | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| Pethidine | Dangerous | Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths |
| Phenobarbital | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| SAMe | Dangerous | Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure |
| 2-Aminoindane | Caution | Masks the effects of each drug; risk of overdosing when one wears off before the other |
| 2-FA | Caution | Masks the effects of each drug; risk of overdosing when one wears off before the other |
| 2-FEA | Caution | Masks the effects of each drug; risk of overdosing when one wears off before the other |
| 2-Fluorodeschloroketamine | Caution | Both cause CNS depression; increased risk of vomiting, unconsciousness, and respiratory depression |
| 2-FMA | Caution | Masks the effects of each drug; risk of overdosing when one wears off before the other |
| 1,3-Butanediol | Low Risk & Decrease | Depressants dull psychedelic effects; benzodiazepines are commonly used as trip-killers |
| 1B-LSD | Low Risk & Decrease | Depressants dull psychedelic effects; benzodiazepines are commonly used as trip-killers |
| 1cP-AL-LAD | Low Risk & Decrease | Depressants dull psychedelic effects; benzodiazepines are commonly used as trip-killers |
| 1cP-LSD | Low Risk & Decrease | Depressants dull psychedelic effects; benzodiazepines are commonly used as trip-killers |
| 1cP-MiPLA | Low Risk & Decrease | Depressants dull psychedelic effects; benzodiazepines are commonly used as trip-killers |
History
Synthesis by Sternbach
Diclazepam was first synthesized by Leo Sternbach at Roche Laboratories in the 1960s as part of the broad exploration of benzodiazepine derivatives following Sternbach's discovery of chlordiazepoxide in 1955. It was described in the scientific literature and patented but never developed into a pharmaceutical product, likely because its prolonged action and complex metabolic profile offered no clear clinical advantage over existing benzodiazepines of that era.
Research Chemical Market Emergence
Diclazepam appeared in the research chemical market around 2013–2014, part of a wave of designer benzodiazepines entering online markets as jurisdictions began scheduling earlier compounds. It attracted attention partly due to its long duration of action, which made it useful as a tapering agent for those managing withdrawal from shorter-acting benzodiazepines or GABAergic novel psychoactive substances.
Community Usage Patterns
Community discussion of diclazepam reflects two distinct use patterns: recreational anxiolysis and sedation, and medically-motivated self-managed tapering from other substances. The Reddit community's awareness of the accumulation risk and the use of diclazepam specifically as a taper agent (rather than for direct intoxication) reflects a sophisticated harm reduction culture that has developed around long-acting benzodiazepines.
Regulatory Status
Diclazepam has been scheduled in several European countries and is subject to analogue act provisions in others. It remains unscheduled in some jurisdictions. The compound's legal status continues to evolve as regulatory agencies respond to its presence in novel psychoactive substance markets.
Harm Reduction
Understand Accumulation — Single Dosing Is Not Predictive of Multi-Day Use
The most important harm reduction point for diclazepam is understanding its accumulation risk. A dose that feels safe on day one may represent only 30–40% of steady-state plasma concentration. Users who dose daily will reach concentrations two to three times higher than any single dose by days 5–7. Never assume that an initial dose response represents how you will respond to the same dose after repeated use.
Extended Periods Between Doses
Given the 42+ hour half-life and active metabolites, meaningful clearance between doses requires several days, not hours. Even a two-day gap between doses does not achieve full clearance. Recreational use should be limited to single, isolated occasions with weeks between uses.
Use for Tapering Only Under Harm Reduction Supervision
Diclazepam has been used in community harm reduction contexts for tapering from other benzodiazepines or short-acting GABAergics. If used for this purpose, doses should be designed by someone with pharmacological knowledge of equivalent dosing, and the long half-life should be exploited — not countered — by using very infrequent doses to allow accumulation to stabilize.
Never Combine with Alcohol or Opioids
Standard benzodiazepine safety rule, more critical here because the long half-life means diclazepam remains active — and additive — even when the user may not feel its direct effects.
Do Not Drive
The long half-life means sedation and psychomotor impairment may be present the day after use even when subjective effects seem to have resolved. Driving is unsafe for 24–48+ hours after a dose.
Toxicity & Safety
Accumulation Risk
The most critical toxicity concern with diclazepam is cumulative accumulation. Its extremely long half-life, compounded by active metabolites with similarly long half-lives, means that repeated dosing — even at intervals of days — leads to steadily increasing plasma concentrations. Users may not recognize that they are accumulating to potentially dangerous levels because each individual dose seems manageable.
After 5–7 doses taken every 24 hours, plasma concentrations of diclazepam and its active metabolites can reach multiples of those achieved with a single dose, with potentially profound sedation, memory impairment, and respiratory depression emerging days into a dosing schedule.
CNS and Respiratory Depression
Supratherapeutic CNS depression presents as ataxia, dysarthria, profound sedation, and at extreme levels, respiratory depression. The combination with alcohol or opioids substantially lowers the threshold for fatal respiratory depression.
Dependence and Withdrawal
Physical dependence develops comparably to other long-acting benzodiazepines. Despite the long half-life providing some inherent buffering of withdrawal onset, abrupt discontinuation after regular use can produce a delayed, severe withdrawal syndrome including:
- Rebound anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks
- Perceptual disturbances
- Grand mal seizures (potentially fatal)
- Delirium
No Clinical Dosing Guidance
The absence of pharmaceutical development and clinical trials means no established therapeutic dose range exists. Community-derived dose estimates are highly unreliable, especially given inter-individual pharmacokinetic variation.
Addiction Potential
extremely physically and psychologically addictive
Overdose Information
overdose is a medical emergency that may lead to a coma, permanent brain injury or death if not treated promptly and properly. Symptoms of a benzodiazepine overdose may include severe thought deceleration, slurred speech, confusion, delusions, respiratory depression, coma or death. Benzodiazepine overdoses may be treated effectively in a hospital environment, with generally favorable outcomes. Benzodiazepine overdoses are sometimes treated with flumazenil, a GABAA antagonist, however care is primarily supportive in nature.
Although many drugs are safe on their own, they can become dangerous and even life-threatening when combined with other substances. The list below contains some common potentially dangerous combinations, but may not include all of them. Certain combinations may be safe in low doses of each but still increase the potential risk of death. Independent research should always be done to ensure that a combination of two or more substances is safe before consumption.
- Depressants** (1,4-Butanediol, 2-methyl-2-butanol, alcohol, barbiturates, GHB/GBL, methaqualone, opioids) - This combination can result in dangerous or even fatal levels of respiratory depression. These substances potentiate the muscle relaxation, sedation and amnesia caused by one another and can lead to unexpected loss of consciousness at high doses. There is also an increased risk of vomiting during unconsciousness and death from the resulting suffocation. If this occurs, users should attempt to fall asleep in the recovery position or have a friend move them into it.
- Dissociatives** - This combination can result in an increased risk of vomiting during unconsciousness and death from the resulting suffocation. If this occurs, users should attempt to fall asleep in the recovery position or have a friend move them into it.
- Stimulants** - It is dangerous to combine benzodiazepines with stimulants due to the risk of excessive intoxication. Stimulants decrease the seda
Dangerous Interactions
The combinations listed below may be life-threatening. Independent research should always be conducted to ensure safety when combining substances.
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Compounding CNS depression with anticholinergic effects; risk of cardiac events and respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Unpredictable potentiation of CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Severe respiratory depression; this combination is the leading cause of prescription drug overdose deaths
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Combined CNS depression; risk of respiratory failure
Tolerance
| Full | within 3-4 days of continuous use |
| Half | Unknown |
| Zero | 7 - 14 days |
Cross-tolerances
Legal Status
Canada: All benzodiazepines are listed in Schedule IV.
Germany: Diclazepam is controlled under Anlage II BtMG (Narcotics Act, Schedule II) as of November 21, 2015. It is illegal to manufacture, possess, import, export, buy, sell, procure or dispense it without a license.
Poland: Diclazepam is under the IV-P group as of January 27, 2022. It is illegal to own, possess, and sell in Poland.
Russia: Diclazepam is a Schedule III controlled substance since 2017.
Switzerland: Diclazepam is a controlled substance specifically named under Verzeichnis E.
Turkey:** Diclazepam is a classed as drug and is illegal to possess, produce, supply, or import.
United Kingdom: Diclazepam is a Class C controlled substance as of May 31, 2017. It is illegal to possess, produce or supply it.
United States: Diclazepam is a Schedule I controlled substance as of January 23, 2023.
Responsible use
Volumetric liquid dosing
Depressants
Benzodiazepines
Diclazepam (Wikipedia)
Diclazepam (Isomer Design)
Tips (9)
Never combine Diclazepam with alcohol or opioids. This combination is responsible for a massive proportion of overdose deaths. The respiratory depression from mixing depressants is synergistic and unpredictable.
If prescribed Diclazepam, use it as directed and have honest conversations with your doctor about any recreational use. Benzodiazepines are among the most difficult drugs to quit once dependent. Short-term use only.
Research chemical benzodiazepines (clonazolam, flualprazolam, etc.) are significantly more potent than pharmaceutical Diclazepam. Doses measured in micrograms can cause multi-day blackouts. Use volumetric dosing.
Diclazepam is widely considered one of the best research chemical benzos for tapering off other benzodiazepines or addictive substances. Its long half-life of approximately 42 hours provides stable blood levels that reduce interdose withdrawal.
Diclazepam is roughly 10 times more potent than diazepam by weight. A typical anxiolytic dose is 1-2mg, with 2-3mg being a moderate dose. Volumetric dosing is essential because the margin between therapeutic and blackout doses is narrow.
Even though diclazepam is useful for tapering, it can still produce physical dependence within 1-2 weeks of daily use. Have a clear exit plan before starting and stick to your taper schedule. Do not use it recreationally during a taper.
Community Discussions (6)
See Also
References (3)
- PubChem: Diclazepam
PubChem compound page for Diclazepam (CID: 76168)
pubchem - Diclazepam - TripSit Factsheet
TripSit factsheet for Diclazepam
tripsit - Diclazepam - Wikipedia
Wikipedia article on Diclazepam
wikipedia