nabollocks
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2007
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HELEN KEMPTON - The Mercury Newspaper
September 04, 2009 04:00am
A packet of the sedative alprazolam, available on PBS prescription but worth $2000 on the black market.
TASMANIA is in the grip of a crisis of prescription drug abuse which is killing and leading to big social problems.
The misuse of prescribed narcotics caused 33 deaths in Tasmania in 2007 and 28 deaths last year.
Tasmanian alcohol and drug abusers are increasingly turning to alprazolam -- a sedative understood to have been involved in the 2007 death of film star Heath Ledger.
Australia-wide, PBS prescriptions of 2mg alprazolam rose from 100,000 in 2007-08 to 114,000 last year.
Most alarmingly, the prescription rate in Tasmania is double the national rate.
Tasmanian Alcohol and Drug Service clinical director Adrian Reynolds said the misuse of alprazolam in conjunction with other narcotics such as morphine was causing social harm, dependency and death.
"It is a global phenomenon which is also being felt acutely in Tasmania," Dr Reynolds said yesterday.
"The drugs work well for chronic pain and anxiety disorders but prescriptions are being abused.
"There is evidence that diverted prescription opiates are supporting an illicit market in Tasmania."
"Prescription drugs fetch a high price on the black market. A single prescription of 52mg of alprazolam is worth about $2000 on the street.
A new "real-time" pharmacy reporting system is being rolled out in the state to try to stem the rate of prescription diversion and abuse.
With more funding, the reporting system could be broadened to include GPs.
A Royal Australian College of General Practitioners report says alprazolam is being injected in conjunction with methadone to achieve a heroin-like high.
"The practice of intravenously injecting alprazolam with methadone presents a very serious risk of overdose," the college said.
In 2003 about 3 per cent of Australia's illegal drug users reported using alprazolam. That number jumped to 14 per cent in 2008.
Experts report that people arrested while under the influence of alprazolam often have no recollection of prior events.
The medication can also increase the effects of alcohol.
Medically, alprazolam is often prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders.
Alprazolam is listed as a declared restricted substance under the Tasmanian Poisons (Declared Restricted Substances) Order 1990.
September 04, 2009 04:00am
A packet of the sedative alprazolam, available on PBS prescription but worth $2000 on the black market.
TASMANIA is in the grip of a crisis of prescription drug abuse which is killing and leading to big social problems.
The misuse of prescribed narcotics caused 33 deaths in Tasmania in 2007 and 28 deaths last year.
Tasmanian alcohol and drug abusers are increasingly turning to alprazolam -- a sedative understood to have been involved in the 2007 death of film star Heath Ledger.
Australia-wide, PBS prescriptions of 2mg alprazolam rose from 100,000 in 2007-08 to 114,000 last year.
Most alarmingly, the prescription rate in Tasmania is double the national rate.
Tasmanian Alcohol and Drug Service clinical director Adrian Reynolds said the misuse of alprazolam in conjunction with other narcotics such as morphine was causing social harm, dependency and death.
"It is a global phenomenon which is also being felt acutely in Tasmania," Dr Reynolds said yesterday.
"The drugs work well for chronic pain and anxiety disorders but prescriptions are being abused.
"There is evidence that diverted prescription opiates are supporting an illicit market in Tasmania."
"Prescription drugs fetch a high price on the black market. A single prescription of 52mg of alprazolam is worth about $2000 on the street.
A new "real-time" pharmacy reporting system is being rolled out in the state to try to stem the rate of prescription diversion and abuse.
With more funding, the reporting system could be broadened to include GPs.
A Royal Australian College of General Practitioners report says alprazolam is being injected in conjunction with methadone to achieve a heroin-like high.
"The practice of intravenously injecting alprazolam with methadone presents a very serious risk of overdose," the college said.
In 2003 about 3 per cent of Australia's illegal drug users reported using alprazolam. That number jumped to 14 per cent in 2008.
Experts report that people arrested while under the influence of alprazolam often have no recollection of prior events.
The medication can also increase the effects of alcohol.
Medically, alprazolam is often prescribed to treat anxiety and panic disorders.
Alprazolam is listed as a declared restricted substance under the Tasmanian Poisons (Declared Restricted Substances) Order 1990.
