Benzodiazepines as a social problem: the case of halcion

This paper uses the case study of the crisis surrounding the benzodiazepine sleeping tablet Halcion (triazolam). particularly in the UK and US, to assess the explanatory value of the developmental model of drugs as a social problem first outlined by Gabe and Bury (9). It is argued that the case study supports the value of the model's three stage approach of emergence, legitimation and state response but that further comparative work needs to be undertaken with prescribed drugs other than benzodiazepines in order to substantiate fully the claim that the model represents a "natural history" of drugs as a social problem.