bromazolam bromazolam bromazolam (xli-268) is a triazolobenzodiazepine (tbzd) which was first synthesised in 1976, but was never marketed. it has subsequently been sold as a designer drug, first being definitively identified by the emcdda in sweden in 2016. it is the bromo instead of chloro analogue of alprazolam and has similar sedative and anxiolytic effects to it and other benzodiazepines. bromazolam is a non subtype selective agonist at the benzodiazepine site of gabaa receptors, with a binding affinity of 2.81nm at the α1 subtype, 0.69nm at α2 and 0.62nm at α5. bromazolamlegal statuslegal status ca: schedule iv de: npsg (industrial and scientific use only) uk: under psychoactive substances act identifiers iupac name 8-bromo-6-phenyl-1-methyl-4h-benzo triazolo diazepine cas number71368-80-4pubchem cid12562546chemspider19871738uniiymc9ot97z1chemblchembl3246832chemical and physical dataformulac17h13brn4molar mass353.223 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles brc1cc2c(=ncc3nnc(c)n3c2cc1)c4ccccc4 inchi inchi=1s/c17h13brn4/c1-11-20-21-16-10-19-17(12-5-3-2-4-6-12)14-9-13(18)7-8-15(14)22(11)16/h2-9h,10h2,1h3key:kceiobkddqaycm-uhfffaoysa-n legality in the united states, bromazolam is unscheduled at the federal level. however a number of states such as virginia have placed bromazolam into schedule 1 at the state level but does not include the chloro analog phenazolam. despite being unscheduled there have been several arrests in the united states for mismarketing bromazolam as alprazolam, typically in the shape of brand name xanax tablets which constitutes a counterfeit drug charge among others. in illinois, at least 1 person has been arrested for "unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a class 4 felony." for the possession of less than 15 grams of bromazolam, similar to being charged for unlawful possession of alprazolam in illinois. it's unknown if this arrest involved counterfeit xanax shaped tablets or powder. however bromazolam is not scheduled in illinois. in the united kingdom, bromazolam is illegal under the psychoactive substances act 2016.