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 Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday that bromazolam, also known as "Designer Xanax," received an emergency designation as a Schedule I controlled substance.

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.