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FRONTLINE WORKERS SAY they’re concerned over a rise in use of an epilepsy drug by habitual drug users in Dublin and Limerick.
Pregabalin – a prescription drug used to manage a range of conditions including epilepsy, neuropathic pain and anxiety – is being bought online or from street dealers and used for its sedative effects and to enhance the euphoric effects of other drugs.
In some cases, other adulterated or counterfeit tablets are being sold as pregabalin.
The prescription drug is marketed under the name Lyrica (amongst others) but is sold on the street as ‘Gabbies’, ‘Budweisers’, and ‘Bud Light’.
It’s supposed to be taken orally – but among drug users it’s being injected, snorted or taken rectally.
An increase in use was noted by workers with the Ana Liffey Drug Project in Dublin and Limerick in the last few months. Its misuse has been reported internationally too – and a study in 2014 by the National Drug Treatment Centre’s (NDTC) Drug Analysis Laboratory found that it was an attractive drug to opioid dependent drug users.
That study also suggested that misuse of the prescription drug was a serious emerging issue which should be monitored carefully.
“The problematic use of pregabalin amongst our client group in Dublin and Limerick was identified by frontline workers a number of months ago,” Tony Duffin of Ana Liffey Drug Project said.
Frontline services responded immediately by providing as much information and harm reduction advice as we could to people.
However, this was a newly emerged drug trend and there was little accessible health promotion information available about the misuse of pregabalin.
As a result an awareness campaign has been launched by Ana Liffey in conjunction with other groups working in the area, and a fact sheet and poster on the drug are available on the HSE-funded Drugs.ie website.
According to online forums, pregabalin is reportedly taken in combination with benzodiazepines, alcohol, heroin, cannabis, LSD, amphetamines or other substances. In Ireland, according to frontline workers, it’s predominantly being taken orally – although there have been reports of some people injecting the drug.
In addition to sedation and euphoric effects, it can also induce hallucinations, cause vomiting, result in fits and seizures and induce psychosis. Stopping use suddenly can be dangerous, according to the recently-released fact sheet – instead, slow medically-supervised withdrawal is recommended.
In Ireland, pregabalin-related deaths increased by 86% from 14 in 2013 to 26 in 2014 – the latest year for which figures are available.
Looking at the wider picture, there has been a surge in polydrug deaths - deaths resulting from a cocktail of drugs being taken – in the last decade or so.
In 2014, according to Health Research Board figures, there were 235 deaths resulting from polydrug use. In 2004 the comparable figure was 118.
Concern has also been raised in Dublin recent months over an apparent increase in crack-cocaine use. Paraphernalia used to smoke the drug has been found in areas frequented by habitual drug users in the city.
Crack-cocaine is a smokeable form of cocaine made by chemically altering cocaine powder to form crystals or rocks. It can quickly become both physically and psychologically addictive.
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It’s not really an anti-epileptic. It’s predecessor Gabapentin was used as one but Pregabalin really came on the market as an atypical pain killer. It’s now probably used most often as an adjunct to the treatment of anxiety disorder. Unfortunately it’s now overprescribed due to the lack of availability of psychology services.
If laxatives produced a high we would be in deep $hit.
Lyrics is also used for nerve pain such as in peripheral neuropathy. Any drug with sedation effects seems to end up in the hands of addicts. If laxatives produced a high ( god forbid), they’d be next! We can’t defeat it, but can do a better job of dealing with the casualties and collateral damage.
Shame we can’t spend the time and money we spend policing cannabis on our actual drugs problems like this. We have finite resources and waste them fighting a drug thats legal all over the US and soon to be legal in the entirety of Canada.
Wasted gardai time, wasted court time, wasted money.
26 deaths from this legal drug alone in 2014 alone, yet cannabis never killed anyone ever but we still spend millions trying to eradicate it… very unsuccessfully as it’s available everywhere.
Pregabalin is an anti-convulsant, developed for treatment of epileptic seizures.
Lyrica is a drug of different category, developed for GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder).
Both are sometimes prescribed for the treatment of chronic pain.
Beats me how, & why, it can be so difficult to obtain a prescription for these (expensive) drugs by those who need them, when articles such as this suggest the drugs are readily available for illegal abuse!
I doubt if street versions are as safe as those prescribed, use them “recreationally” at your peril!
@Frances Heneghan: Lyrica IS pregabalin, Lyrica is the trade name, pregabalin is the generic name for the ingredient.
I know someone who used to take these for nerve pain in his back. He said it was his worst two years of his life. Worst thing of all the GP just kept throwing them at him.
@John B : Having been prescribed an anti-convulsant years ago for neurpathic radiculopathy, and later, Lyrica, for the worsened problem, I’m totally aware (explained to by Neurologist), of the different actions by two drugs which were completely different. Neither, btw, gave me any pain relief.
@Frances Heneghan: pregabalin is lyrica… It’s the same drug. Don’t believe ask Google or click here https://www.drugs.com/cdi/pregabalin.html
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