1:36:44 > 1:36:47In Northern Ireland, prescription drugs account for
1:36:47 > 1:36:49the majority of drug-related deaths.
1:36:49 > 1:36:51The biggest killer in Great Britain is heroin.
1:36:51 > 1:36:54The biggest killer in Northern Ireland is tramadol.
1:36:54 > 1:36:56Tonight on Spotlight,
1:36:56 > 1:36:59we ask why our deadliest drugs come in blister packs
1:36:59 > 1:37:03and over the counter, and witness the impact of their misuse.
1:37:03 > 1:37:05"Please don't tell me my child is dead."
1:37:05 > 1:37:09Begging the ambulance men, "Please, try. Help, please."
1:37:09 > 1:37:12Spotlight has exclusively analysed
1:37:12 > 1:37:16more than 20 million prescription records across Northern Ireland.
1:37:17 > 1:37:19Deaths don't come as a surprise to me.
1:37:19 > 1:37:22It's surprising we probably don't have more deaths.
1:37:22 > 1:37:26We reveal how the number of prescriptions of a drug
1:37:26 > 1:37:31commonly used here has risen by nearly 50% in the last four years.
1:37:31 > 1:37:34It's a very addictive drug, very open to abuse.
1:37:34 > 1:37:38We investigate the different sources of these drugs and ask,
1:37:38 > 1:37:40is your GP your first dealer?
1:37:40 > 1:37:45I can't, you know, say that we wouldn't fall into that category.
1:37:45 > 1:37:48We certainly write the prescriptions for many of these drugs.
1:37:48 > 1:37:53And we obtain a secret dossier that claims to lay bare
1:37:53 > 1:37:54the extent of street dealing.
1:37:54 > 1:37:57You hear the word drug dealer and you think cocaine, heroin.
1:37:57 > 1:38:02It's stark to think that there's prescription drugs in their hands.
1:38:22 > 1:38:26You can never have the happiness back in your life again, can you, like?
1:38:29 > 1:38:30There they go.
1:38:30 > 1:38:33And there's his white coffin as well.
1:38:33 > 1:38:34A white coffin, he had.
1:38:34 > 1:38:36Everything was purple, purple, purple.
1:38:38 > 1:38:39Everybody wore purple.
1:38:43 > 1:38:45SHE SIGHS
1:38:45 > 1:38:48It is so sad, isn't it, to think you have to bury your child?
1:38:48 > 1:38:50Breaks my heart, so it does.
1:38:53 > 1:38:57Patricia Browne lost her 26-year-old son, Christopher,
1:38:57 > 1:38:59to prescription drugs.
1:39:00 > 1:39:03- This is a cute wee one, this wee one of him when he was small.- Yeah.
1:39:03 > 1:39:06- VOICE BREAKS:- Christopher was a Man United supporter.
1:39:06 > 1:39:09You know, as well as the boxing - he loved the boxing.
1:39:09 > 1:39:11Patricia believes his problems started
1:39:11 > 1:39:14when his young girlfriend killed herself.
1:39:14 > 1:39:16Problems for Christopher just developed after that.
1:39:16 > 1:39:17You know, mental health issues.
1:39:19 > 1:39:22So when did he start taking prescription drugs?
1:39:22 > 1:39:26I would say maybe at the age of 19-20.
1:39:26 > 1:39:29But when he wanted more than his GP would give him,
1:39:29 > 1:39:31he turned to dealers online.
1:39:32 > 1:39:36It was very easy to access the diazepam on the internet.
1:39:36 > 1:39:38One day you ordered them, the next day you put the money
1:39:38 > 1:39:41in their bank account, and they would deliver it the next day.
1:39:41 > 1:39:45You know, I think it was something like 1,000 of them for £250.
1:39:45 > 1:39:48As well as diazepam, Christopher's mum says
1:39:48 > 1:39:52he was prescribed by his GP Lyrica, a common brand of pregabalin.
1:39:52 > 1:39:55It was when he started abusing Lyrica
1:39:55 > 1:39:58that Patricia saw a sharp decline.
1:39:58 > 1:40:01He didn't even know who he was, with the head down,
1:40:01 > 1:40:03dribbling his food - couldn't eat his food at the table,
1:40:03 > 1:40:05dribbling down his mouth.
1:40:05 > 1:40:07When he wasn't on drugs, he was a good kid.
1:40:07 > 1:40:10You know, he was a real lovable kid. He would give you his last.
1:40:10 > 1:40:11Mother's Day, birthdays,
1:40:11 > 1:40:14- Christmas - he just loved Christmas, so he did.- Yeah.
1:40:14 > 1:40:17He was the first one always out doing his shopping.
1:40:17 > 1:40:20Christopher's was one of five drug deaths
1:40:20 > 1:40:22in Belfast that weekend in April.
1:40:22 > 1:40:25As they await the results of postmortem examinations,
1:40:25 > 1:40:28at this stage the police don't think any single drug
1:40:28 > 1:40:30was responsible for the deaths.
1:40:30 > 1:40:35By the end of September, the city's drug death toll had reached 37.
1:40:35 > 1:40:39While it's still unknown how many of those deaths
1:40:39 > 1:40:40involved prescription drugs,
1:40:40 > 1:40:43latest trends indicate they will form the majority.
1:40:43 > 1:40:46What is for sure is that, of those 37 Belfast deaths,
1:40:46 > 1:40:50more than half took place in the north of the city.
1:40:52 > 1:40:56DUP councillor Guy Spence represents North Belfast.
1:40:56 > 1:41:00We first met him at a community meeting, where many people were
1:41:00 > 1:41:05angry, saying the authorities were failing to tackle the drugs crisis.
1:41:05 > 1:41:07That meeting in North Belfast was called
1:41:07 > 1:41:10by the Policing and Community Safety Partnership
1:41:10 > 1:41:12on the information that drugs,
1:41:12 > 1:41:15particularly prescription drugs,
1:41:15 > 1:41:19was an increasing issue within our district, North Belfast.
1:41:19 > 1:41:24It was an opportunity for the public and members of the community,
1:41:24 > 1:41:28community leaders, to come together and to find out more.
1:41:29 > 1:41:34Feeling abandoned, the community appealed for more resources.
1:41:34 > 1:41:35I don't think there's enough outcry.
1:41:35 > 1:41:38I'm getting phone calls every day from parents begging for help.
1:41:38 > 1:41:41Drugs are very accessible.
1:41:41 > 1:41:44People can log on to the internet as if they're doing their shopping
1:41:44 > 1:41:46and get drugs delivered to your house in the post.
1:41:46 > 1:41:48We agree not to film the meeting
1:41:48 > 1:41:50as a member of the Public Prosecution Service
1:41:50 > 1:41:53wished to talk candidly off-camera.
1:41:53 > 1:41:57Afterwards, we spoke to Billy Burns, who was at the same meeting.
1:41:57 > 1:42:00A lot of people, a lot of angry people, in that room tonight.
1:42:00 > 1:42:03Basically, all we heard was
1:42:03 > 1:42:06how this is going to happen
1:42:06 > 1:42:08and this is going to happen.
1:42:09 > 1:42:13But the kids are down on the streets now. It needs to happen now.
1:42:13 > 1:42:15Billy, who lost his son to drugs,
1:42:15 > 1:42:20asked the police at the meeting about a group active on social media
1:42:20 > 1:42:23called Communities Against Death Dealers, or CADD.
1:42:23 > 1:42:26The group had compiled a dossier of allegations
1:42:26 > 1:42:29against drug dealers, submitted, it says,
1:42:29 > 1:42:34anonymously by those among its 17,000 Facebook followers.
1:42:34 > 1:42:37You raised the issue of a Facebook group
1:42:37 > 1:42:40- called Communities Against Death Dealers.- Yes.
1:42:40 > 1:42:43They have compiled a dossier of allegations
1:42:43 > 1:42:46naming suspected, alleged drug dealers.
1:42:46 > 1:42:50It's got to the point, Lyndsey, where the community now
1:42:50 > 1:42:52have had that much anger in the community
1:42:52 > 1:42:57that they have resulted in Facebook pages coming up
1:42:57 > 1:42:58showing drug dealers,
1:42:58 > 1:43:01telling them that they are death dealers.
1:43:04 > 1:43:07CADD may have just appeared on social media,
1:43:07 > 1:43:11but Billy believes it represents the desperation
1:43:11 > 1:43:14of a community pushed to its limit by dealers.
1:43:15 > 1:43:18It's the people crying out for some help.
1:43:18 > 1:43:22They're not getting it from the PSNI or the other agencies,
1:43:22 > 1:43:24so they're hitting out themselves.
1:43:24 > 1:43:29As the CADD dossier is said to contain more than 250 allegations
1:43:29 > 1:43:32against dealers selling across the internet
1:43:32 > 1:43:35and up and down the streets of Northern Ireland,
1:43:35 > 1:43:37we want to see it for ourselves.
1:43:37 > 1:43:40At the meeting, it emerged the drug death toll of 37
1:43:40 > 1:43:42may have risen by two.
1:43:42 > 1:43:46The revelation came from coroner Joe McCrisken.
1:43:46 > 1:43:50You have ordered two investigations in the last week.
1:43:50 > 1:43:52The deaths have occurred as a result of what we think
1:43:52 > 1:43:53are prescription drug use,
1:43:53 > 1:43:56but we'll need to wait on the forensic analysis
1:43:56 > 1:43:58to be carried out to be sure.
1:43:58 > 1:44:03The deadliest of prescription drugs in Northern Ireland is tramadol,
1:44:03 > 1:44:07which kills more than Class A drugs like heroin and cocaine.
1:44:07 > 1:44:10The tramadol death rate in Great Britain has been decreasing
1:44:10 > 1:44:12over the last three years.
1:44:12 > 1:44:14In Northern Ireland, it has been increasing.
1:44:14 > 1:44:18The biggest killer in Great Britain is heroin.
1:44:18 > 1:44:21The biggest killer per drug in Northern Ireland is tramadol.
1:44:23 > 1:44:26The dangers of tramadol misuse are well known.
1:44:26 > 1:44:30But there now worry about another prescription drug, pregabalin,
1:44:30 > 1:44:34marketed as Lyrica, according to Dr Yasir Abbasi.
1:44:34 > 1:44:36Today, the Home Office launched
1:44:36 > 1:44:39a formal consultation on its classification.
1:44:39 > 1:44:42The Government recently suggested that pregabalin should be
1:44:42 > 1:44:45classed as a Class C substance,
1:44:45 > 1:44:49which was on the recommendation of the British Medical Association.
1:44:49 > 1:44:52I think Northern Ireland needs to be more quick
1:44:52 > 1:44:55in responding to these recommendations.
1:44:55 > 1:45:00Christopher was prescribed pregabalin in the brand form Lyrica,
1:45:00 > 1:45:02which he misused.
1:45:02 > 1:45:06Dr Abbasi was one of the first to raise concerns about pregabalin.
1:45:07 > 1:45:10If pregabalin is prescribed appropriately,
1:45:10 > 1:45:12and monitored regularly,
1:45:12 > 1:45:17then there is nothing to say that it's a dangerous drug.
1:45:17 > 1:45:21The issue that you might have with pregabalin over-prescription
1:45:21 > 1:45:25is that people, or individuals who are using it,
1:45:25 > 1:45:27being dependant or addicted to it.
1:45:27 > 1:45:33Alex Bunting from Addiction NI is equally concerned.
1:45:33 > 1:45:36We are quite clearly seeing now that it's a very addictive drug,
1:45:36 > 1:45:37very open to abuse,
1:45:37 > 1:45:39and it is being abused right across communities.
1:45:39 > 1:45:42With growing criticism around pregabalin,
1:45:42 > 1:45:46Spotlight commissioned a special piece of research.
1:45:49 > 1:45:54We have obtained a huge database of 20 million prescription records
1:45:54 > 1:45:57written by GPs across Northern Ireland over the last four years.
1:45:57 > 1:46:03We've had them analysed and can exclusively reveal a 46% rise
1:46:03 > 1:46:05in prescriptions of the drug
1:46:05 > 1:46:08that's implicated in more and more overdose deaths -
1:46:08 > 1:46:13pregabalin, or as we know, most commonly referred to as Lyrica.
1:46:13 > 1:46:17A 46% increase in pregabalin prescription
1:46:17 > 1:46:20over the past four years is quite dramatic.
1:46:20 > 1:46:24Um... Gosh.
1:46:24 > 1:46:26There's definitely overprescribing there.
1:46:26 > 1:46:28I guess it very much raises the question
1:46:28 > 1:46:31of the addictive potential of pregabalin,
1:46:31 > 1:46:34and the fact that this needs some urgent attention
1:46:34 > 1:46:35by the medical community.
1:46:37 > 1:46:40On the morning we interviewed Alex Bunting,
1:46:40 > 1:46:43US President Donald Trump made this announcement...
1:46:44 > 1:46:47The federal government is aggressively fighting
1:46:47 > 1:46:51the opioid epidemic on all fronts.
1:46:51 > 1:46:55Alex blames America's crisis, and our increasing problems
1:46:55 > 1:46:58with prescription drugs, on overprescribing.
1:46:58 > 1:47:01If you look at Middle America, they have a significant problem
1:47:01 > 1:47:04with heroin and injecting drug populations
1:47:04 > 1:47:06that's all been developed from the overuse
1:47:06 > 1:47:10and overprescribing of very potent, powerful pain medication.
1:47:10 > 1:47:12If we are slightly behind that curve,
1:47:12 > 1:47:14then we are walking into the same problem.
1:47:16 > 1:47:19The SDLP's Nichola Mallon hears first hand the effects
1:47:19 > 1:47:22of addiction to prescription drugs from sufferers,
1:47:22 > 1:47:25some of whom started taking them legitimately.
1:47:25 > 1:47:28What we see coming into my office
1:47:28 > 1:47:31is people of all ages who are addicted to prescription drugs.
1:47:31 > 1:47:33Some are addicted because they are waiting on operations
1:47:33 > 1:47:35and they're living in severe pain.
1:47:37 > 1:47:40She believes Northern Ireland's problem with prescription drugs
1:47:40 > 1:47:43stems from a pill-sharing past in the Troubles.
1:47:43 > 1:47:46During the conflict, and as a consequence of it,
1:47:46 > 1:47:49we in Northern Ireland have an unhealthy relationship
1:47:49 > 1:47:52with prescription drugs. Throughout the Troubles,
1:47:52 > 1:47:56it wasn't unusual for neighbours to share prescription drugs.
1:47:56 > 1:48:00It is referred to locally as nerve tablets to try to deal with anxiety.
1:48:03 > 1:48:04EXPLOSION RUMBLES
1:48:06 > 1:48:08- REPORTER:- What happened just then?
1:48:08 > 1:48:11- WOMAN:- That explosion there, just behind College Street.
1:48:11 > 1:48:13Does this sort of thing happen often?
1:48:13 > 1:48:14Very often. It does, indeed.
1:48:14 > 1:48:16And how do you feel when you hear and see
1:48:16 > 1:48:18- these explosions all around you? - It frightens you.
1:48:18 > 1:48:22Benzodiazepines, under the brand name Valium,
1:48:22 > 1:48:24first came to Northern Ireland 50 years ago.
1:48:24 > 1:48:26EXPLOSION
1:48:26 > 1:48:28CHILD CRIES
1:48:28 > 1:48:30SHE SHUSHES
1:48:30 > 1:48:33- REPORTER:- The doctors I met in Belfast gave me the impression
1:48:33 > 1:48:36of standing watch over a psychiatric volcano.
1:48:36 > 1:48:38Decades later,
1:48:38 > 1:48:41and the demand for what is now known as diazepam has stabilised.
1:48:41 > 1:48:45But our research suggests it's just being substituted
1:48:45 > 1:48:46with something else.
1:48:46 > 1:48:50This new drug that came in, by the name of pregabalin,
1:48:50 > 1:48:53was considered to be a safer option.
1:48:53 > 1:48:56And they started prescribing this more, in effect,
1:48:56 > 1:48:59and so they were replacing one chemical with the other.
1:48:59 > 1:49:02And Dr Abbasi believes more research is needed to see
1:49:02 > 1:49:07if pregabalin has the same potential for addiction that diazepam has.
1:49:07 > 1:49:09I do not question its safety profile,
1:49:09 > 1:49:15I do question as to its potential for addiction.
1:49:15 > 1:49:17We are seeing a drug which is marketed as a very safe drug -
1:49:17 > 1:49:20and, again, I do not question the safety there -
1:49:20 > 1:49:23but what is very important is we have not established
1:49:23 > 1:49:25its links to addiction.
1:49:25 > 1:49:27And I think, in my clinical practice,
1:49:27 > 1:49:29that there are links there.
1:49:29 > 1:49:34Other front-line professionals are increasingly sharing this view.
1:49:34 > 1:49:38One of Dr Michael McKenna's patients is among the 37 dead.
1:49:38 > 1:49:42And while it's still unknown if Lyrica was involved in that case,
1:49:42 > 1:49:44he's very worried about its impact.
1:49:44 > 1:49:48I am becoming increasingly sceptical about its use in pain,
1:49:48 > 1:49:50and I'm trying not to prescribe it.
1:49:50 > 1:49:52This was heralded as a very safe drug,
1:49:52 > 1:49:55and not addictive in any way.
1:49:56 > 1:50:00And yet, as time goes on,
1:50:00 > 1:50:03we see the increasing problems that it's causing.
1:50:03 > 1:50:06We also see a drug which,
1:50:06 > 1:50:10when used inappropriately and abused,
1:50:10 > 1:50:13is...is extremely dangerous.
1:50:13 > 1:50:17You know, we have seen a lot of drug-related deaths now, recently,
1:50:17 > 1:50:20where Lyrica is showing up in the toxicology screening.
1:50:21 > 1:50:24The day after the North Belfast meeting,
1:50:24 > 1:50:28the Falls Community Council gives us an idea of just how many drugs,
1:50:28 > 1:50:32including illegally-obtained prescriptions, are on the streets.
1:50:32 > 1:50:34This is a drugs bin.
1:50:34 > 1:50:37So what people do is, they can come in,
1:50:37 > 1:50:40dispose of drugs in here in a safe way.
1:50:40 > 1:50:43The PSNI then come, and they empty the bin.
1:50:43 > 1:50:47With waiting times for addiction treatment of 6-9 months,
1:50:47 > 1:50:51this place offers practical support to addicts and their families.
1:50:51 > 1:50:53The PSNI weren't due to come out
1:50:53 > 1:50:55for about another two weeks.
1:50:55 > 1:50:58We had to phone them to come out and empty it
1:50:58 > 1:50:59because it was actually full.
1:50:59 > 1:51:02We literally couldn't get anything more into it.
1:51:02 > 1:51:03So that is the amount of drugs
1:51:03 > 1:51:06that this is helping to take off the streets.
1:51:06 > 1:51:10But funding for the service ended last month.
1:51:10 > 1:51:13We are in actual real danger of having to close the service here.
1:51:13 > 1:51:15We are still waiting on word
1:51:15 > 1:51:18to see whether we will get the funding renewed for this service.
1:51:18 > 1:51:22And so, are you literally waiting to find out if you are getting
1:51:22 > 1:51:26- this much-needed money?- Yes, that is actually the point that we're at.
1:51:26 > 1:51:29Gerry believes places like his can be the difference
1:51:29 > 1:51:31between life and death for addicts,
1:51:31 > 1:51:34and fears the drug death toll will only rise if they shut.
1:51:35 > 1:51:38The number of recorded deaths through drugs
1:51:38 > 1:51:41will be higher this year, so we actually do have a crisis.
1:51:41 > 1:51:44With some patients becoming addicted
1:51:44 > 1:51:47after being legally prescribed drugs as medication,
1:51:47 > 1:51:49your GP is effectively your first dealer.
1:51:49 > 1:51:52We put this to Dr McKenna.
1:51:52 > 1:51:56I can't, you know, say that we wouldn't fall into that category.
1:51:56 > 1:51:58We certainly write the prescriptions
1:51:58 > 1:52:00for many of these drugs.
1:52:00 > 1:52:04But with that comes a responsibility.
1:52:04 > 1:52:09One, to be aware of what we are prescribing.
1:52:09 > 1:52:13Two, to make our patients aware of the potential for addiction.
1:52:13 > 1:52:16And then, three, to monitor it to ensure that
1:52:16 > 1:52:20we can get them off the medications at an appropriate time.
1:52:20 > 1:52:23Dr McKenna admits this approach doesn't always work.
1:52:23 > 1:52:25He says that, on some occasions,
1:52:25 > 1:52:28the drugs he prescribes make it to the street.
1:52:28 > 1:52:32We know that Belfast is awash with prescription drugs.
1:52:32 > 1:52:35With those illegally-bought prescription drugs,
1:52:35 > 1:52:37where are they coming from?
1:52:37 > 1:52:39There are two sources.
1:52:39 > 1:52:42One, the internet is a big source.
1:52:42 > 1:52:44And then, we have the prescriptions
1:52:44 > 1:52:47that I prescribe and my colleagues prescribe,
1:52:47 > 1:52:48which are sold on by our patients.
1:52:48 > 1:52:51And there is an element of that that happens.
1:52:51 > 1:52:54So you suspect that you have patients who come in here
1:52:54 > 1:52:56and you are prescribing them drugs,
1:52:56 > 1:52:59they are going out onto the street and selling them?
1:52:59 > 1:53:02They are not using them themselves, they are selling them on?
1:53:02 > 1:53:06In some instance, yes, that is happening.
1:53:06 > 1:53:08Or they will take half for themselves
1:53:08 > 1:53:09and sell the other half on.
1:53:09 > 1:53:11It's a form of income for them.
1:53:11 > 1:53:15And how many patients have you seen where you suspect them
1:53:15 > 1:53:19to be not really using the drugs, and selling on?
1:53:19 > 1:53:22I've certainly had one person removed from the list
1:53:22 > 1:53:26for fraudulent misuse of medication.
1:53:26 > 1:53:30And when did you first notice this as a phenomenon?
1:53:30 > 1:53:33It's really only something that's been happening
1:53:33 > 1:53:35in the last four or five years.
1:53:35 > 1:53:39Christopher's mum, Patricia, says it's common for people
1:53:39 > 1:53:43to stage symptoms to obtain and sell on their prescriptions.
1:53:43 > 1:53:46It was a whole craze here as well that kids had to Google the six symptoms
1:53:46 > 1:53:48what they needed to get Lyrica, and they got them,
1:53:48 > 1:53:50and then they were selling them.
1:53:50 > 1:53:53- They got them so easy off them. - Just checking off this list?
1:53:53 > 1:53:55Checking online what they needed,
1:53:55 > 1:53:56and then they would have sold the tablets.
1:53:56 > 1:53:59Some addicts deal to fund their habit,
1:53:59 > 1:54:02but there are also dealers selling prescription drugs
1:54:02 > 1:54:05alongside hard drugs on a bigger scale.
1:54:05 > 1:54:09It's anger with what is seen as a failure to tackle dealers
1:54:09 > 1:54:12that CADD uses to justify its dossier.
1:54:14 > 1:54:18What it appears to show is the sheer scale of dealing taking place.
1:54:18 > 1:54:20Revealed within its pages are names,
1:54:20 > 1:54:23addresses, pictures and text exchanges
1:54:23 > 1:54:26that can be traced to all corners of Northern Ireland.
1:54:26 > 1:54:28It also shows that there are
1:54:28 > 1:54:31over 30 alleged dealers seemingly pushing Lyrica.
1:54:34 > 1:54:36But it is when it is taken with
1:54:36 > 1:54:41a cocktail of drugs that it can be particularly dangerous.
1:54:41 > 1:54:43Michael Hall was prescribed Lyrica
1:54:43 > 1:54:46and began misusing it in his early 20s.
1:54:46 > 1:54:50His parents felt helpless watching him fall deeper into his addiction.
1:54:50 > 1:54:54His father, Robert, is haunted by one exchange.
1:54:55 > 1:54:58And I says, "Look at the state of you - you're black."
1:54:58 > 1:55:00And he was, like, all waxy.
1:55:00 > 1:55:03He was just like a dead body in a coffin.
1:55:04 > 1:55:07He says, "Daddy, I'll not do it no more, that's it finished."
1:55:07 > 1:55:09But it wasn't.
1:55:09 > 1:55:11His dependence got so bad,
1:55:11 > 1:55:14his mother, Josephine, even drove him to his dealers.
1:55:14 > 1:55:17Because, without the drugs, Michael was worse.
1:55:17 > 1:55:20You would have taken him to get drugs because,
1:55:20 > 1:55:23when he was on the drugs, the drugs helped him?
1:55:23 > 1:55:27- Yes.- When he came off them, he would have been in a bad way?
1:55:27 > 1:55:30He would have been in a very, very bad way, shaking,
1:55:30 > 1:55:32and, like, foaming at the mouth.
1:55:32 > 1:55:35And what would he have been taking?
1:55:35 > 1:55:39Um...Lyrica...and blues.
1:55:39 > 1:55:42What, you took him out to get stuff like that?
1:55:42 > 1:55:45I thought you told me it was only blue you were getting him.
1:55:45 > 1:55:46I didn't know what he was getting.
1:55:48 > 1:55:51But in April, aged 25,
1:55:51 > 1:55:55Michael took a cocktail of drugs including Lyrica and diazepam.
1:55:55 > 1:55:57He just kept on collapsing,
1:55:57 > 1:55:59and he collapsed three times.
1:55:59 > 1:56:01But I got him into bed, got his clothes off,
1:56:01 > 1:56:05left his T-shirt and his boxers on, and put him into bed.
1:56:05 > 1:56:07Michael had a seven-year-old son
1:56:07 > 1:56:09and planned to see him the following day.
1:56:09 > 1:56:13But he never woke up from his latest drug binge.
1:56:13 > 1:56:15Michael was still warm when I found him.
1:56:15 > 1:56:17He had fallen out of the bed
1:56:17 > 1:56:21and looked as if he was trying to crawl to the door.
1:56:22 > 1:56:25That's the shape he was in on the ground.
1:56:25 > 1:56:27- As though he had been on all fours, almost?- On all fours,
1:56:27 > 1:56:30and his mouth was sort of stuck to the ground.
1:56:43 > 1:56:45When you come out and you look up, do you...?
1:56:45 > 1:56:47- Think of Michael? - You think of him?
1:56:48 > 1:56:50How have you been getting on?
1:56:50 > 1:56:51Terrible.
1:56:51 > 1:56:54I've never felt as lonely in my life.
1:56:57 > 1:56:59I can't stick it.
1:57:09 > 1:57:12When families lose a loved one in Northern Ireland,
1:57:12 > 1:57:13many can end up here.
1:57:15 > 1:57:18You work very closely with families who have been bereaved.
1:57:18 > 1:57:21You sit at this table with them.
1:57:21 > 1:57:27I met a family just last Friday - in fact, in this room -
1:57:27 > 1:57:34who had lost their son as a result of Diazepam toxicity.
1:57:34 > 1:57:40They were talking about how they had picked their son's cot for him
1:57:40 > 1:57:43and his first buggy and his first bike,
1:57:43 > 1:57:46and how then they had to go along and pick his coffin.
1:57:46 > 1:57:50He also thinks more people need to be aware of the dangers of taking
1:57:50 > 1:57:52a cocktail of prescription drugs.
1:57:55 > 1:57:59Ten years ago, we would have seen one drug on a death certificate,
1:57:59 > 1:58:02perhaps heroin, cocaine, ecstasy.
1:58:02 > 1:58:06Now, we see regularly three, four, five, six -
1:58:06 > 1:58:08mostly prescription drugs.
1:58:08 > 1:58:11We have people who are taking what they consider to be
1:58:11 > 1:58:15small levels of prescription medications,
1:58:15 > 1:58:18but all those drugs are all building up to do one thing,
1:58:18 > 1:58:21which is cause unconsciousness and then death.
1:58:21 > 1:58:25He warns that when a person overdoses on prescription drugs,
1:58:25 > 1:58:27they don't look like they're dying.
1:58:29 > 1:58:31What we hear sometimes during an inquest is that
1:58:31 > 1:58:33a person was snoring.
1:58:33 > 1:58:35They are kind of displaying signs of being intoxicated.
1:58:35 > 1:58:39People think, well, someone is intoxicated with alcohol,
1:58:39 > 1:58:41put them to bed and they will sleep it off.
1:58:41 > 1:58:45You don't sleep off, normally, drug toxicity.
1:58:45 > 1:58:48You die, if you don't receive treatment.
1:58:50 > 1:58:52The effects of prescription drug misuse are not just
1:58:52 > 1:58:54a threat to addicts,
1:58:54 > 1:58:56but frequently a source of real danger
1:58:56 > 1:58:59to those who stand between them and their habit.
1:58:59 > 1:59:02Over a career, I have been held up 11 times.
1:59:02 > 1:59:05Terry Maguire, the pharmacist of two of the 37 who died
1:59:05 > 1:59:08from drugs overdoses, is on that front line.
1:59:08 > 1:59:11I had the point of a knife inserted into my nostril.
1:59:11 > 1:59:13There was a gun produced.
1:59:13 > 1:59:15And it was the first time
1:59:15 > 1:59:17that I really felt my life threatened, in a sense.
1:59:17 > 1:59:21Christopher, Michael and three others died on the same weekend.
1:59:21 > 1:59:25Also at that time, two of Terry's nearby colleagues were attacked
1:59:25 > 1:59:27with knives, for prescription drugs.
1:59:27 > 1:59:29- REPORTER:- The two staff who were stabbed,
1:59:29 > 1:59:31were both pharmacists in the shop.
1:59:31 > 1:59:36That reflects the degree of violence which we are increasingly seeing
1:59:36 > 1:59:38from people who are robbing pharmacies.
1:59:38 > 1:59:41Terry may be shocked by the escalating violence
1:59:41 > 1:59:44around prescription drugs, but not by the deaths
1:59:44 > 1:59:45of two of his patients.
1:59:45 > 1:59:49Was death something that you genuinely anticipated?
1:59:49 > 1:59:51Were you surprised?
1:59:51 > 1:59:54I very much appreciate the dangers of misusing drugs
1:59:54 > 1:59:57and therefore deaths don't come as a surprise to me,
1:59:57 > 2:00:00they are tragic, but they aren't a surprise.
2:00:00 > 2:00:03It is surprising we probably don't have more deaths.
2:00:07 > 2:00:09Despite the violence and the deaths,
2:00:09 > 2:00:12Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton describes CADD's dossier
2:00:12 > 2:00:13as counter-productive.
2:00:15 > 2:00:16Their actions are entirely unhelpful.
2:00:16 > 2:00:18They are, in many instances, I believe,
2:00:18 > 2:00:22potentially frustrating either ongoing police investigations
2:00:22 > 2:00:23or future police action
2:00:23 > 2:00:25because they are alerting people to the fact
2:00:25 > 2:00:27that there may be an awareness of their activities.
2:00:29 > 2:00:32He says naming suspects endangers them.
2:00:34 > 2:00:37The PSNI has a responsibility to anyone who they believe
2:00:37 > 2:00:39is subject to a threat, to take action
2:00:39 > 2:00:42in order, obviously, to protect them from any perceived threat.
2:00:42 > 2:00:45So, what that does, in my view, is tie up police resources.
2:00:47 > 2:00:49I'll, first of all, formally welcome
2:00:49 > 2:00:50everyone here this morning.
2:00:50 > 2:00:54Last month, Sinn Fein MLA Alex Maskey launched
2:00:54 > 2:00:58an unofficial inquiry into the drugs epidemic in West Belfast.
2:00:58 > 2:01:00We had what has been described as a "spike"
2:01:00 > 2:01:03in the number of people who were losing their lives
2:01:03 > 2:01:04to the scourge of drugs.
2:01:04 > 2:01:06Whether that was the opioids,
2:01:06 > 2:01:09as they call it, or the misuse of prescription drugs.
2:01:09 > 2:01:13One of the many issues it hopes to address is repeated calls
2:01:13 > 2:01:17from the community to see dealers jailed, not bailed.
2:01:17 > 2:01:20There has been criticism against the PSNI,
2:01:20 > 2:01:22and there has been criticisms against what people call
2:01:22 > 2:01:25the revolving doors in the Magistrates' Courts and so on,
2:01:25 > 2:01:28where people are walking away with lenient sentences and so on.
2:01:28 > 2:01:29All of that is in the mix.
2:01:34 > 2:01:38When at least 37 have died in just nine months, in Belfast alone,
2:01:38 > 2:01:42some believe a key message support workers must teach
2:01:42 > 2:01:45is simply how to take drugs safely.
2:01:45 > 2:01:49Because what we are talking about is people taking drugs...
2:01:49 > 2:01:52And, as you know, we live in the real world,
2:01:52 > 2:01:53people are taking drugs.
2:01:53 > 2:01:56So this is where we talk about making it safer.
2:01:56 > 2:02:01This training at the Falls Community Council gives practical help to mums
2:02:01 > 2:02:03from a community on the edge.
2:02:03 > 2:02:05See, if you are going to use, this is what you need to know.
2:02:05 > 2:02:07The reality is, this is what could happen.
2:02:07 > 2:02:11We're back to hear if Sharon's boss got the funding for the centre.
2:02:11 > 2:02:13The last time we were here, Gerry McConville
2:02:13 > 2:02:15was sitting waiting by the phone.
2:02:15 > 2:02:18- Has that call come through? - No, that call hasn't come through.
2:02:18 > 2:02:21The frustrating thing for the community
2:02:21 > 2:02:23is that the little help there is on the ground is at risk.
2:02:23 > 2:02:26I know that some of the families that we've worked with,
2:02:26 > 2:02:28it has saved someone's life.
2:02:28 > 2:02:31Most people say to us, "I didn't know that this place existed."
2:02:31 > 2:02:34And the reason, probably, for some of that is because people...
2:02:34 > 2:02:36We see a lot of people when they're in crisis.
2:02:36 > 2:02:38This was exactly the situation
2:02:38 > 2:02:40that Josephine and Robert were in with Michael.
2:02:40 > 2:02:43In crisis, but unable to find help.
2:02:45 > 2:02:49No matter who I phoned for help, um, I never got help.
2:02:50 > 2:02:53People give you these numbers to phone
2:02:53 > 2:02:57and you phone and the phone rings off or they'll get back to you -
2:02:57 > 2:02:58they never do.
2:02:58 > 2:03:00Lyndsey, this is Michael's room.
2:03:05 > 2:03:07And this is...down here...
2:03:07 > 2:03:08I found Michael...
2:03:11 > 2:03:12..dead here.
2:03:12 > 2:03:16But it's what the dealers who sold her son prescription drugs
2:03:16 > 2:03:20did to him to ensure payment that also haunts Josephine today.
2:03:21 > 2:03:24The beatings Michael took, the scarring on his body,
2:03:24 > 2:03:25was out of this world.
2:03:26 > 2:03:30And he was at Divis flats and they got a boiling kettle
2:03:30 > 2:03:31and poured it over him.
2:03:31 > 2:03:33And it was that coat that saved him.
2:03:35 > 2:03:37It was... His stomach was burnt and his arm was burnt.
2:03:37 > 2:03:42But he told me it was this hot water bottle and that hot water bottle...
2:03:42 > 2:03:45There's fur over that, so how could he have got burnt?
2:03:48 > 2:03:51Like Michael, for Christopher, dealers were his downfall.
2:03:52 > 2:03:58Can you take me back to the Sunday night...when you last saw him?
2:03:58 > 2:03:59Me and him sat talking.
2:03:59 > 2:04:02He told me that day he was going to try to go off prescription drugs.
2:04:02 > 2:04:05I know he left. He went to the Dublin Road.
2:04:05 > 2:04:07He met his death there.
2:04:07 > 2:04:09Patricia believes her son's final drug deal was done
2:04:09 > 2:04:11in the centre of Belfast.
2:04:13 > 2:04:17He went behind a wall, where he met his death, really.
2:04:17 > 2:04:19And the deal was done in five minutes.
2:04:19 > 2:04:21I'll never forget my sister-in-law coming here to get me
2:04:21 > 2:04:23and I remember just squealing at her,
2:04:23 > 2:04:25"Please, don't tell me my child is dead!"
2:04:25 > 2:04:28And she kept saying, "They're working on him,
2:04:28 > 2:04:29"they're working on him."
2:04:29 > 2:04:33Begging the ambulance men, "Please, try... Help, please."
2:04:33 > 2:04:35And they were saying, no, he was dead.
2:04:40 > 2:04:43You hear the word "drug dealer" and you think - cocaine, heroin.
2:04:43 > 2:04:47It's stark to think that there's prescription drugs in their hands.
2:04:47 > 2:04:50Guy Spence is appalled by how many dealers now
2:04:50 > 2:04:53peddle prescription drugs, but he is also shocked
2:04:53 > 2:04:56by our figures that highlight the growing prescribing
2:04:56 > 2:04:58of pregabalin, or Lyrica...
2:04:58 > 2:04:59It's my generation
2:04:59 > 2:05:02who is going to be affected by the use of these drugs,
2:05:02 > 2:05:03moving forward.
2:05:03 > 2:05:07..and, as a result, is calling for serious change.
2:05:07 > 2:05:10I do think that the parameters for prescribing drugs
2:05:10 > 2:05:15within the whole of the UK needs to be reassessed and reconsidered,
2:05:15 > 2:05:18taking into account the effects of Lyrica.
2:05:18 > 2:05:20Pfizer, which devised Lyrica,
2:05:20 > 2:05:24told us the drug was found to be...
2:05:24 > 2:05:28..for neuropathic pain, epilepsy and anxiety.
2:05:28 > 2:05:31It said it had updated its labelling for Lyrica in 2014,
2:05:31 > 2:05:34following a European review, and products carry warnings
2:05:34 > 2:05:38about the risk of dependence, misuse or abuse in patients
2:05:38 > 2:05:40with a history of substance abuse.
2:05:40 > 2:05:44It said it would take part in the Home Office consultation
2:05:44 > 2:05:47over plans to classify pregabalin as a Class C drug.
2:05:47 > 2:05:51It is absolutely essential that, within Northern Ireland,
2:05:51 > 2:05:55this review takes place because there is a quite dramatic increase
2:05:55 > 2:05:57in the prescription of those medications.
2:05:57 > 2:06:00In a statement, The Health and Social Care Board said it,
2:06:00 > 2:06:02"recognises we have an issue that..."
2:06:05 > 2:06:09It said, "There is an onus on GPs to prescribe drugs in accordance
2:06:09 > 2:06:12"with symptoms reported by the patient.
2:06:12 > 2:06:15"And while that relationship could be exploited,
2:06:15 > 2:06:18"GPs are aware of the risks and exercise diligence."
2:06:18 > 2:06:21It said it, "regularly monitors prescribing" and it has made calls
2:06:21 > 2:06:24"for consideration to be given to more stringent controls
2:06:24 > 2:06:28"over supply of the drug and its classification."
2:06:30 > 2:06:32Deirdre Lennon lost her 19-year-old son
2:06:32 > 2:06:34to a cocktail of prescription drugs two years ago.
2:06:38 > 2:06:41Coamhan's death prompted the then coroner to say
2:06:41 > 2:06:44he was increasingly concerned about toxic combinations
2:06:44 > 2:06:46of prescription drugs.
2:06:50 > 2:06:53- Can you actually see Coamhan's grave from here?- Yeah, Lyndsey.
2:06:53 > 2:06:57Every morning, Deirdre is confronted by Coamhan's memory.
2:06:58 > 2:07:00See, one, two, three
2:07:00 > 2:07:02- four, five, six down?- Mm.
2:07:02 > 2:07:06It's the middle grave, with the Bible on it and Our Lady.
2:07:06 > 2:07:09As soon as I open my eyes in the morning...
2:07:10 > 2:07:13Now, her only surviving son is fighting
2:07:13 > 2:07:16his own addiction to drugs like Lyrica.
2:07:16 > 2:07:18When we meet her,
2:07:18 > 2:07:21she says she believes that he has not used for two weeks.
2:07:21 > 2:07:24He's just...he's just existing.
2:07:24 > 2:07:27I mean, um...
2:07:27 > 2:07:29Rarely goes out. Never leaves the room.
2:07:29 > 2:07:33It's just in my mind that I'm going to find him the same way,
2:07:33 > 2:07:34if he doesn't stop the tablets.
2:07:35 > 2:07:38And do you ever worry that...?
2:07:38 > 2:07:40Yeah, every day.
2:07:40 > 2:07:43Every day and every night. You just...
2:07:43 > 2:07:44Cos you don't know the minute.
2:07:44 > 2:07:46Just hoping and praying.
2:07:46 > 2:07:47And I pray every day
2:07:47 > 2:07:49that it doesn't happen again.