Editing Flunitrazepam (section)

==Pharmacology==
The main pharmacological effects of flunitrazepam are the enhancement of [[GABA]], an [[inhibitory neurotransmitter]], at various [[GABA receptors]].<ref name=EU/>  All benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effect of GABA receptors, which, when active, allow chloride ions to enter the neuron.<ref name="tripsitter.com">{{cite web | vauthors = Santos E |title=Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) Fact Sheet & Harm Reduction Guide |url=https://tripsitter.com/benzodiazepines/flunitrazepam/ |website=Tripsitter |date=October 13, 2022 |access-date=15 November 2023}}</ref> Negative ions such as chloride inhibit the ability of neurons to fire.  It is this stimulation of GABA receptors which is responsible for the depressant effects of benzodiazepines. Flunitrazepam shows high affinity for the α-5 subunit of the GABA-A receptor, which causes some of its unique side effects, such as amnesia.<ref name="tripsitter.com"/>

While 80% of flunitrazepam that is taken orally is absorbed, [[bioavailability]] in suppository form is closer to 50%.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cano JP, Soliva M, Hartmann D, Ziegler WH, Amrein R | title = Bioavailability from various galenic formulations of flunitrazepam | journal = Arzneimittel-Forschung | volume = 27 | issue = 12 | pages = 2383–2388 | year = 1977 | pmid = 23801 | id = rohypnol }}</ref>

Flunitrazepam has a long [[half-life]] of 18–26 hours, which means that flunitrazepam's effects after nighttime administration persist throughout the next day.<ref name=Residual2004/> This is due to the production of active metabolites. These metabolites further increase the duration of drug action compared to benzodiazepines that produce nonactive metabolites.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Griffin CE, Kaye AM, Bueno FR, Kaye AD | title = Benzodiazepine pharmacology and central nervous system-mediated effects | journal = The Ochsner Journal | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 214–223 | date = 2014 | pmid = 23789008 | pmc = 3684331 }}</ref>

Flunitrazepam is lipophilic and is metabolised by the liver via oxidative pathways. The enzyme [[CYP3A4]] is the main enzyme in its [[phase 1 metabolism]] in human liver microsomes.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hesse LM, Venkatakrishnan K, von Moltke LL, Shader RI, Greenblatt DJ | title = CYP3A4 is the major CYP isoform mediating the in vitro hydroxylation and demethylation of flunitrazepam | journal = Drug Metabolism and Disposition | volume = 29 | issue = 2 | pages = 133–140 | date = February 2001 | pmid = 11159802 | url = http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/2/133 | archive-date = March 21, 2009 | access-date = November 25, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090321141246/http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/2/133 | url-status = dead }}</ref>