There are several drugs available in the market which can be used for the same purpose. Xanax and Etizolam are some of those medicines which help people cure insomnia, anxiety, and depression. However, there are some differences between the two. We are going to discuss the major differences between Xanax and Etizolam.
1. Xanax (Alprazolam) Properties
Also known by the trade name Xanax, alprazolam is one of the most commonly prescribed benzodiazepines. People use it primarily as an anti-anxiety medication specifically for general anxiety disorder and panic disorder. It has also been prescribed for chemotherapy-induced nausea. Alprazolam comes in pill form and has an oral bioavailability of eighty to ninety percent. Alprazolam (Xanax) is a popular recreational drug in popular culture.
Strength
Alprazolam is one of the most powerful and commonly prescribed benzodiazepines available on the market today. Alprazolam is approximately equal in potency to etizolam but with several different effects and traits that set the two apart. Alprazolam has a stronger sedative effect than etizolam, is more likely to cause memory loss, and has a higher dependence liability.
Duration
Alprazolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine with an eleven to thirteen-hour half-life. The effects of alprazolam have a maximum period of only six hours.
Effects
Alprazolam is a very effective anti-anxiety medication, sedative, and hypnotic medication as well as a potent intoxicant. Typical impacts of alprazolam use include euphoria, memory loss, loss of coordination and motor skills, drowsiness, relaxation, and reduced inhibitions. Alprazolam intoxication strongly resembles alcohol intoxication. Alprazolam has a high potential for abuse compared to etizolam.
Standard Dose
Alprazolam doses start as low as 0.25 milligrams per pill to four-milligram “bars.” One to four-milligram doses are used to control general anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Alprazolam doses of over four milligrams are recreational doses and people use them for recreational purposes.
2. Etizolam Properties
Unlike alprazolam, etizolam isn’t a true benzodiazepine but rather a thienodiazepine derivative benzodiazepine analog. It is marketed under various brand names such as Etilaam, Etizest, Pasaden, Depas, and Etizola. Etizolam can be taken orally, sublingually, or rectally whereas alprazolam is only available in an oral pill. Etizolam has a ninety-three percent oral bioavailability compared to alprazolam which only has an oral bioavailability of eighty to ninety percent. This makes etizolam a more effective drug than alprazolam all around.
Strength
Etizolam is about equal in power to alprazolam, although it doesn’t typically come in doses higher than two milligram pills. Alprazolam tends to produce a stronger sedative effect than etizolam, making it a better choice for treating insomnia. Alprazolam also has a stronger likelihood of producing benzodiazepine addiction and withdrawal symptoms than etizolam does.
Duration
Etizolam usually has a slightly longer term of action than alprazolam at six to eight hours rather than alprazolam’s six-hour maximum. Etizolam also has a much shorter half-life than alprazolam at just over eight hours.
Effects
Etizolam has anti-anxiety, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, and skeletal muscle relaxant properties on top of its anti-anxiety effects while alprazolam only has sedative-hypnotic and anxiolytic properties. Etizolam is less likely to cause tolerance and dependence than alprazolam due to its unique reverse tolerance effect that causes it to become even more effective over time rather than less like most benzodiazepines and other drugs. Etizolam is considered to have only moderate potential for abuse compared to alprazolam.
Standard Dose
Etizolam is about equal in strength to alprazolam and is available in a similar dose range with 0.25-milligram pills, 0.5-milligram pills, and one and two-milligram pills. Unlike alprazolam, etizolam is not manufactured in doses as high as four milligrams, however. The recommended maximum medicinal dose for etizolam is three milligrams per day. Recreational doses tend to start at four milligrams of etizolam.
3. Diclazepam vs. Etizolam
Diclazepam
Diclazepam is a relatively recently rediscovered experimental designer benzodiazepine synthesized in the 1960s but never actually marketed. Diclazepam is a sedative-hypnotic and a more powerful analog of diazepam, better known by the trade name Valium. Etizolam and diclazepam are about equally effective.
Strength
Diclazepam and etizolam are roughly equal in strength. Diclazepam is ten times the strength of its parent drug, diazepam. One milligram of diclazepam is equivalent to one milligram of etizolam, making the substances equal in potency.
Duration
Diclazepam is taken either orally or sublingually. It takes between ten and forty-five minutes for diclazepam to take effect, and it is a relatively long-acting benzodiazepine with a duration of ten to twelve hours.
Effects
Diclazepam is a fairly powerful anxiolytic and sedative-hypnotic drug. It also has anticonvulsant and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. Diclazepam metabolizes into several other medicines within the body such as lorazepam, delorazepam, and lormetazepam. It causes drowsiness, disinhibition, loss of motor coordination, short-term memory loss, and euphoria.
Standard Dose
Diclazepam starts working at doses as low as a half milligram. Four milligrams is relatively a heavy dose of diclazepam and is in the recreational range.
Etizolam
Etizolam is similar in strength to diclazepam but shorter acting and less sedating. Etizolam is the only drug known to possess the reverse tolerance phenomenon. Etizolam has a history of approved medical use while diclazepam is still a designer drug lacking information about long-term effects on human beings.
Strength
Etizolam is roughly the same strength as diclazepam. One milligram of either substance is equal to ten milligrams of diazepam.
Duration
Etizolam has a relatively brief duration of action compared to diclazepam. Its effects peak between thirty minutes to two hours after onset and last from between six to eight hours. In contrast, diclazepam lasts from ten to twelve hours.
Effects
Etizolam has many of the same therapeutic results as diclazepam though diclazepam is no longer acting. Both drugs cause short-term memory loss, poor coordination, and sedation, however, etizolam causes less drowsiness and memory loss than diclazepam. Etizolam is preferred for recreational use due to its fast onset, pleasant body buzz, short half-life, and brief duration of effects.
Standard Dose
A mild dose of one milligram of etizolam is just as effective as a milligram of diclazepam. Four milligrams would constitute a heavy dose of either drug.
4. Metizolam vs. Etizolam
Metizolam
Metizolam is a thienotriazolodiazepine and a less powerful, demethylated analog of etizolam. It is also known as desmethyletizolam. It is approximately half the strength of standard etizolam. Etizolam is the more effective of the two drugs.
Strength
Metizolam is approximately half the potency of etizolam.
Duration
Metizolam has a reasonably moderate duration of five to eight hours and a sixty percent longer half-life than etizolam does.
Effects
Metizolam is an anxiolytic, sedative-hypnotic, anticonvulsant, and skeletal muscle relaxant. Its effects include feelings of calm, peace, relaxation, and euphoria, along with a subtle yet pleasant body buzz. Higher doses cause loss of inhibition, drowsiness, and lack of coordination.
Dose
While there is no standardized dosage available for metizolam, a typical starting dose is one milligram while a heavy dose constitutes six or more milligrams.
Etizolam
Etizolam is metizolam’s parent drug, and as such, the two share many similar traits and effects. Etizolam is the methylated version of metizolam.
Strength
Etizolam is about twice as potent as metizolam. One milligram of etizolam is equal in strength to two milligrams of metizolam.
Duration
Etizolam lasts between six and eight hours, roughly the same length of time as metizolam.
Effects
Etizolam and metizolam share an almost identical effects profile. Both drugs are efficient anxiolytics, sedatives, anticonvulsants, skeletal muscle relaxants, and intoxicants. The only difference between the effects of the two drugs is etizolam’s higher potency, and metizolam’s slightly longer mechanism of action.
Dose
The standard dose of etizolam for a general anxiety disorder or panic disorder is one milligram per day. The dosage for insomnia is one to two milligrams before bedtime. Three milligrams is a considerably heavy dose and four milligrams or above constitutes a recreational dose. It takes two milligrams of metizolam to equal a single milligram of etizolam so it would take twice as much metizolam to achieve the same effects.
5. Flubromazolam vs. Etizolam
Flubromazolam
Flubromazolam is a relatively new and incredibly powerful designer benzodiazepine derivative active in tiny doses. It is a designer drug only currently available on the grey market. Due to its inconsistency and extreme strength, etizolam is a safer bet than flubromazolam.
Strength
Flubromazolam is an extremely potent new benzodiazepine derivative. It is active in microgram-sized doses starting at one hundred micrograms.
Duration
Flubromazolam starts to take effect from thirty minutes to an hour after consuming the dose. Along with its high potency, flubromazolam also has an unusually long duration of effect at eighteen hours.
Effects
Flubromazolam shares an effect profile with most other benzodiazepines. It can cause disinhibition, euphoria, lack of coordination, loss of balance, memory loss, drowsiness, and respiratory depression. It is reported as being one of the most euphoric and sedating benzodiazepines. Flubromazolam is less effective for treating anxiety than etizolam but more effective at treating insomnia.
Dose
A mild dose of flubromazolam is in the one to two hundred microgram range while a heavy dose lies in the three to four hundred microgram range. The etizolam is popular for its sedating effects. Flubromazolam is too small to make into pills and currently is only available on blotter paper.
Etizolam
It is much less potent than flubromazolam is, but it is safer and much easier to measure and control. It has undergone clinical trials and is the solution for an anxiety medication in Japan and India for decades. Flubromazolam is much stronger than etizolam, but it is a relatively new designer benzodiazepine derivative that hasn’t undergone much human testing yet and may be dangerous to take long term.
Strength
Flubromazolam is much stronger than etizolam. Etizolam is measured in milligrams while flubromazolam is so potent it needs to be measured in micrograms. One milligram of etizolam is roughly equal in strength to one hundred and fifty micrograms of flubromazolam.
Duration
The etizolam has a much shorter duration than flubromazolam. The etizolam lasts between six and eight hours while flubromazolam lasts eighteen hours.
Effects
Etizolam and flubromazolam share many effects. This includes disinhibition, sedation, drowsiness, poor motor coordination, euphoria, relaxation, and difficulty staying awake.
Standard Dose
This drug is much easier to take than flubromazolam. Since flubromazolam is so potent, one should dissolve it in liquid, and then the liquid needs to be dropped on blotter paper-like LSD. This can be imprecise, making flubromazolam less consistent than etizolam and hence possibly more dangerous to take.