Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took emergency action Monday to ban the sale of "designer Xanax," responding to a request from his state's attorney general who is leading a broader effort to combat the highly potent synthetic drug linked to dozens of overdose deaths last year in the Bluegrass State.

Kentucky designated "bromazolam" as a Schedule 1 controlled substance as Gov. Andy Beshear also led a push to have it designated similarly at the federal level.

Bromazolam, also known as “designer Xanax,” is reportedly being sold online and on the streets and often passed off as a prescription pill. Attorney General Russell Coleman called on the Drug Enforcement Administration to schedule bromazolam at the federal level at the beginning of August.