VIDEO: There have now been five overdose deaths on Oahu attributed to a dangerous cocktail of drugs containing Bromazolam so far in 2025. First responders are sounding the alarm as the designer drug is increasingly being found in victims by the Honolulu medical examiner. In 2021, Bromazolam was found in a toxicology test in one man who died. There were two cases in 2022 and 2023. Last year, there were no Bromazolam-related deaths on Oahu.
So the five in the first six months of this year has the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program on alert. “It’s here and it’s in demand,” said Hawaii HIDTA director Gary Yabuta. “In the cases that we review, it appears to be something that is popular with the experienced drug abuser, the known drug abuser,” Yabuta said. All the deaths this year are adults: four men and one woman. The most recent death happened in early June. A 36-year old man died after injecting a mix of Bromazolam and fentanyl.
Bromazolem is a synthetic drug similar to Xanax. It can be mixed into a pill and pressed or into a powder. Because it is not an opioid, Narcan or Naloxone will not help a person overdosing. “They won’t respond to that. So they need full resuscitative efforts by the paramedics and the hospital for supportive care to keep people alive until they can get those drugs out of their system,” said Dr. James Ireland, Honolulu Emergency Services Department director.
