Documentary explores illegal sale of prescription medication in County Derry
By Cathal McGuigan
Two young men from Limavady have featured in a BBC Three documentary about the abuse and illegal sale of prescription medication.
‘Belfast Buds’ is the latest episode of Drugs Map of Britain and was released on BBC iPlayer and Youtube on Thursday.
It followed Kenneth from Belfast, who was prescribed pregabalin to treat anxiety, but began to regularly abuse the medication.
According to the BBC, pregabilin is used more in the north than any other region in the UK and is being prescribed more and more.
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Adam Patterson, who made the documentary, described the rising use and abuse of prescribed medication across the north as “a dark secret no one is talking about.”
“Pregabalin, also known by the brand name Lyrica or the street name 'buds' because of reported effects similar to drunkenness, is the single most prescribed drug in Northern Ireland. Prescriptions have increased by 27% in the last six years.”
“Unlike illegal drugs like heroin, some experts told me prescription meds are accepted as ‘necessary.’ The justification continues because young people are growing up with these drugs in their homes. Parents use them, and so children think ‘Well, if that's normal for others, it might be for me.’
“This normalisation has contributed to another disturbing trend. Young people are buying pregabalin illegally, on the streets and online. It's cheaper than cocaine or ecstasy and, in some places, easier to obtain.”
The documentary also looked at the illegal sale of prescription medication including pregabalin and diazepam, also known as valium or ‘blues’ in Limavady.
A 17-year-old boy was shown speaking to a drug dealer on the phone, who he said sold a range of prescription medication, as well as cannabis and cocaine.
He said that he had been taking valium since he was 12 years old and spoke about his struggle with addiction.
“As soon as you take them, that's you addicted. It's just going to ruin your life so you're better off just not taking it at all, don't do nothing,” he said.
“I've been through it all like and I wish I didn't do it. I've wrecked my life doing it.”
His friend, also featured in the show, described drug addiction as something that’s “always going to be there, like a demon that follows you.”
He spoke about his first experience with pregabalin at the age of 14 or 15.
“I was feeling great at the time and then after that I felt like s**t,” he said.
“Couldn't speak, couldn't move, my body was shaking as if my whole body was closing down. My heart was racing, fading in and out of consciousness.”
He later explained the reason why a Limavady estate was nicknamed “the Bronx.”
“The only thing higher than the people round here is the crime rate,” he said.
The documentary also showed that pregabalin abuse can be fatal, while deaths have also been caused by pills containing banned substances that were sold as pregabalin.
Some experts have called for pregabalin to be made a class C drug, which would make it illegal for people to have it without a prescription and illegal to sell or supply.
Other episodes in the series have focused on heroin issues in Manchester, people dealing with addiction to synthetic cannabinoid 'Black Mamba' in Wolverhampton and the “valium crisis” in Scotland.