Prescribed drugs ‘fuel black market’

Monday 26th July 2004, 12:00AM BST.

A DOCTOR giving evidence to a States hearing on drug abuse has called for a reduction in the number of benodiazepines prescribed in the Island.

So many of the pills, such as Librium and Valium, are now in circulation that they are being sold by pushers on the streets, GP Dr David Bailey has told Deputy Jerry Dorey’s scrutiny panel on drugs.

His warning echoes concerns expressed by a leading expert on the prescription drugs, Professor Heather Ashton, who was brought to the Island to give a talk on the subject to health and prison service members.

Professor Ashton highlighted the dangers of addiction and the difficulties of withdrawal from benzodiazepines, a million of which are prescribed in the Island every year.

Read the full story in the Jersey Evening Post. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are also available online.