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THE USE OF prescription medication is on the rise among drug users in Dublin’s north inner city as tablets move from the medicine cabinet to the streets.
“In the last year we’ve become increasingly concerned about the use of them,” says Tony Duffin, CEO of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, which is spearheading a campaign aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of street tablets.
According to Duffin, some drug users – who are also taking other drugs – are consuming “trays” of street tablets. “Yes, people take heroin, people take cocaine, alcohol, cannabis etc. But tablets are very much a part of that now.”
A tray is whole packet of prescription drugs, also known as a ‘blister pack’.
“These days, if someone says they’ve taken some benzos that means they’ve taken a tray,” says Duffin. And that could mean taking 10 or more tablets at a time.
“People might not associate their intake of pills with increasing their overdose risk, either” he says.
Launching today, ‘Do You Use Street Tablets’ campaign aims to inform users and project workers about the risks associated with taking ‘street’ tablets. In other words, tablets which have been diverted from legal markets, fake tablets or home pressed tablets.
Client surveys conducted by Ana Liffey Drug Project reveal that nearly half of respondents reported use of unprescribed benzodiazepines – commonly known as benzos – in the last week while almost 1 in 4 reported use of unprescribed z-drugs and 1 in 10 reported using unprescribed gabapentin – a painkiller designed to prevent serizures – in the last week.
Benzos include Valium and Xanax, while Z-drugs include Zopiclone and Zaleplon, which are used to treat insomnia.
There has also been a significant number of drug related deaths in Ireland associated with these drugs.
For example, diazepam – a benzo – was implicated in almost one third of all poisoning deaths between 2004 and 2015 in Ireland. Deaths related to Pregabalin – typically a capsule – increased from 26 deaths in 2014 to 44 in 2015.
‘Harm reduction’
The North Inner City Drug & Alcohol Task Force has been collecting data alongside Ana Liffey Drug Project volunteers on drug trends in Dublin’s north inner city and recently identified street tablets a key trend.
Drug use has shifted and changed in Dublin’s north inner city over the years. The uptake in street pills in Dublin can specifically be traced back to crop failure in the Middle East in 2011 which led to a heroin shortage in Dublin.
Drug users deprived of their usual fix increasingly turned to benzos instead – leading to a rise in addiction cases.
Last July, the Ana Liffey Drug Project launched a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of using cocaine. Fact sheet and posters surrounding the use of cocaine has now been widely distributed, says Duffin, particularly in universities.
Similarly, the aim of ‘Do You Use Street Tablets’ campaign – which includes distributing fact sheets and posters with information on street tablets – is to tailor information about street tablets to both the drug user and those working in addiction services.
“One of the things that we don’t people to do is to suddenly stop taking street tablets, either,” says Duffin. “The withdrawal symptoms can be very, very dangerous and difficult.”
“This is about getting harm reduction information to people so they’re better informed about the risks they’re taking. And to the workers, those on the ground and to let the wider population know that this happening.”
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How do these controlled substances get onto the streets in such quantities? The prescribing rules are so strict and pharmacies are very vigilant. Genuine question.
@Jackie Carvill Caruana: Doctors prescribe Valium, etc in huge doses and those are then sold on. It’s been going on for decades now and it is by no means a new thing. I’ve seen this first hand.
@Sinéad White: I’ve been attending 3 consultants in relation to longterm chronic back pain (and other issues) for 7 years, I attend my GP at least once a month and in all those 7 years, I’ve been prescribed diazepam on 2 occasions for 3 days. I don’t know how these people are getting these drugs in such huge quantities. I have genuine medical issues and have never been prescribed large quantities of any highly addictive substances. These people more than likely have medical cards, does that make it easier to get large quantities of these drugs?
@Sirius: What back pain do you suffer? Im cursed with ankylosing spondylitis. I take way to many pain meds!
@Jackie Carvill Caruana: most of them are bogey fake tablets brought in from over seas…. usually they have a placebo eddextbon users or are of a reduced strength hence users eating them like sweets. Then when they get their hands on real tablets, they OD because they cant handle the potency
@John Murray: Have you tried Enbrel??
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: I’m on Cosentyx since October, you’ve good days but you still have really bad days!
@Sinéad White: doctors don’t just hand out Valium, other drugs …. I get 20 Valium tablets, to last me 4 months …..
Good news- I have developed and collected the largest and most comprehensive database of drug related litter in Ireland incl needles, paraphernalia and prescription based medication.
Bad news- the HSE and City Councils don’t care.
@OpenLitterMap:
The noble peace prize committee have just received your nomination!!!!
@BAAB: litter tells a powerful story about public consumption, social psychology, addiction, economics, illicit markets, and more- but not many people want this story told
@OpenLitterMap: email it to me mate please jonny68@gmail.com
@Jonny: OpenLitterMap data is available for free for anyone to download and use for any purpose without permission eg openlittermap.com/maps/Ireland/download however druglitter data is not currently open for ethical reasons
At this stage most drugs are on proscription, another scam
@YouCantHandleTruth: yeah so true prescription drugs are such a danger.
Let’s be honest – pharmacists love dispensing habit forming drugs to addicts and getting a nice margin for the trouble. Yes they will say:
“It’s much better they have contact a health professional and can advise them to seek treatment”
The reality is I’ve witnessed plenty of instances when drugs are dispensed to junkies and the transaction is not dissimilar to condescending dealers taking money and hoping an addict leaves as soon as possible – their very presence is distasteful. There is huge money in selling drugs to addicts and pharmacists are getting rich doing it. The state not only tolerates this but has established the framework that makes this situation inevitable-it is bizarre.
I reckon not a fraction, but the majority of drug classes such as Benzodiazepines are consumed abusively
@thephantomshit: Did you consider reporting it?
If not why not.
@thephantomshit: and you have to call them junkies because.? Addicts have a right to respect and dignity. Many are dual diagnosed with mental health problems that make them candidates for addiction and self destructive behaviours, despite their best efforts .The current addiction service in this country boasts a mere 13% recovery rate. Addicts are plied with methadone and other prescriptions aimed at keeping them quiet rather than counselled or given adequate tools to recover and stay recovered. My brother died this month, at 34 years old, as a result of addiction precipitated by mental health problems. He had been to rehab, had a family who loved and supported him and he wanted, more than anything, to live a normal life. You wouldn’t dare call him a junkie to my face.
@Michelle Cronin & Co:
Sincerest sympathy to you on the sad loss of your brother. May he rest in peace.
These drugs are brought in illegally. They aren’t sourced through doctors or pharmacists…
@Bernadette Reynolds: They are though. I’ve seen first hand an addict family member getting a prescription for 50+ Valium per week. He would then consume these, go back and say he lost them, etc and get the exact same quantity again without any hassle. It’s the same with methadone; many doctors and pharmacists feed the problem rather than prevent it.
@Sinéad White: that’s a fact Sinead. Addicts are pumped full of methadone abd benzos. It keeps them quiet, reduces the crime statistics somewhat and allows the current health service to continue to boast that they’ve made a difference to the drugs crisis. Serious reform is needed.
It is not difficult to fake symptoms of depression or anxiety in order to have a G.P. prescribe the maximum allowable dosage to somebody who is not genuinely ill but whose sole intention is to sell these drugs on the street.This is the only possible method by which these types of pills become widely available, short of some addict robbing a pharmacy. That is not an unknown occurrence but pretty rare nonetheless.
More news that isn’t news.
These drugs are bought over the internet,
smuggled into the country or are made illigaly by drug gangs. Very few doctors will prescribe mood altering addictive medication.
Where can I but these nice tabs
My wife went to our local gp with a pulled muscle in her back, was given a prescription for diazapam and anti anxiety pills and told to take them to sort her back out…GP’s are now the biggest pushers in the country, an absolute disgrace what’s going on
Brass monkies
@Charmaine Walker: I hope the same one dimensional judgement is never levied against you or anyone you care about Charmaine. You look young, probably yet to have children or live through any real life trauma involving addiction or mental health crisis of someone close to you. Look up what they say about people in glass houses.
@Michelle Cronin & Co: yours was the most realistic and decent comment ive read,the commen”you have to call them j#nki#s becase addicts give sthem rights to respect”the people,addicts need help,do you think anyone wants to be going round feeling sick and having to pay somebody for tablets or any drug thats addictive,and thats on a daily basis??no ,obviously nobody does,rain hail or snow,addicts have to live from 1 nitemare to another,and everyone is differeant,that includes people taking stuff,i hate using those words becase i was an addict,i went then on methadone,iv always worked,and im not a “thief”or “house robber”,but i have been robbed,and have had things dipped ,my wallet was dipped from my pocket while waiting for the bus to go home from work,every person is differeant,i had addion problems,im still getting treatment,but every person is differeant,i have a job iv alwys worked and michelle cronin you showed compassion,addiction affects the person the family,but once you have a routine and methadone helped me to keep my job and it does help,but every person is differean,its not a nice place to be,but its up to the person to find a way out,and its a rumor drs,do not hand out anything you want,.i have selfworth i never done bad or treated anyone wrong,i made a stupid mistake 20yr ago smoking a hash that led to smoking heroinand just a bad place to be,but i always worked to fund my habit,then the methadone helped me keep my job as i said,but its a problem,addiction that you dont know you have it till its to late,you dont smoke it 1 or tice and become an addict but over a period of blindness it creeps up on you,
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