Safer, So They Say.

Nonbenzodiazepines, Zopiclone, Zimmovane, Zolpidem and Zaleplon were adopted as a safer alternative. Known as Ambien, it's hugely popular in the US. 40 million prescriptions are issued for it annually, but there's a vast black market trade. Like Oxycodone, it's been wildly overprescribed.

From the early days, people were reporting strange side effects, which were dismissed as "rare", but I know plenty of people who disagreed with that. Patients would believe they had a good, full night's sleep. But they exhibited uncharacteristic behaviour, appeared awake but weren't and remembered nothing.