New laws to combat the street sale of tranquillisers are expected to form part of a government action plan to be published this year.
Drugs strategy minister Roisín Shortall said she had set up a high-level group within the Department of Health to address the problems associated with the abuse of benzodiazepines.
These are tranquillisers and anti-anxiety tablets legally prescribed. They are also imported in massive quantities, including over the internet.
Drug organisations and health experts have raised concerns over their usage for well over a decade. The problem has escalated in recent years and has spread across the country, where they are being abused by adults and young people, typically in combination with other drugs, including heroin and methadone, and alcohol.
Source: Cormac O’Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 21/05/12
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