19/10/2016 BBC Newsline

A prescription drug being abused by teenagers here should be

re-classified according to health officials.

It is illegal to have class C drugs without a prescription

and it is illegal to supply or sell them to others.

Kelly Bonner has been speaking to two teenagers

Pregabalin, also known by the brand name Lyrica or the street

drug to hit the streets of Northern Ireland.

Doctors prescribe it to combat epilepsy and also

But there's a more worrying background.

In recent months, its been linked to a number of deaths including

those of Aarron Strong and Aaron Fox.

It was one of a cocktail of drugs both teenagers had taken.

Last year Lyrica was prescribed more in Northern Ireland than anywhere

But users are not just getting the drug through prescriptions.

They're buying it on street corners and online.

And it's very easy to buy, it took me just ten minutes to find

someone who would deliver the drug to my home.

We're calling him Joe, but that's not his real name.

He's an addict and he says Lyrica is easy to buy.

Walking down the street you can get them.

It is on every corner of every street.

He says the drug has affected every aspect of his life.

It's affected my relationships with all my family.

My family all things the worst of me.

They'll put me down thinking I am a scumbag because I take drugs.

We are calling this teenager Paul, again it's not his real name.

The first time I tried it, it was a nice hit.

It makes you feel invincible and on top of the world.

Then you can see things starting to go

It's not just Lyrica, it is the other stuff.

But on Lyrica I see people running around like zombies.

If they are not out like zombies they are sitting at home

thinking about suicide and other stuff.

It is understood Lyrica has been coming into Northern Ireland

in fairly constant levels for a number of years.

And every week packages are intercepted by the

National Crime Agency and the UK Border Agency

They have been ordered by customers across Northern Ireland.

Earlier I spoke to Joe Brogan, who's head of Pharmacy at the Health

and Social Care Board and I asked him about

I do know 100 people also die each year

To put that in context, that is more people

than the die on the roads in Northern Ireland.

That 100 people will be using drugs such as Pregabalin.

They also use other drugs such as morphine.

The key messages that 100 people die because

Would you like to see people using it less?

What about people stealing drugs are getting relatives to get

GPs prescribe it when it is clinically

It is there to help epilepsy or nerve pain.

The difficulty because with pain there is not a chemical test to

Listing to symptoms and try to respond positively to that.

I do believe there may be a possible way

to reduce the overall volume, but you need other things to

support individuals who are genuinely needing it.

A 28-year-old north Belfast man has been found guilty

of murdering his friend who he beat to death with a claw hammer.

Louis Maguire had tried to blame another man he'd been drinking with,

but a jury at Belfast Crown Court today unanimously convicted him.

35-year-old Eamonn Ferguson was found beaten

He had been struck multiple times with a claw hammer.

His body was found in the living room

On the night of the murder he'd been drinking there with Louis Maguire,

who lived at the address, and another man, 33-year-old

Christopher Power, of no fixed abode.

They were arrested and charged with murder in the days after.

During the trial, both men blamed the other

Today, the jury accepted Christopher Power's account

He was acquitted of murder, but convicted of assisting an offender.

When the verdict was delivered, Maguire began shouting at the jury,

accusing them of stitching him up like his father, referring

to the fact that his father, also called Louis Maguire,

Initially, the police were told an unknown intruder had

attacked the victim up to 20 times with a hammer while the two accused

However, Power told the court he had woken up from a drunken sleep

and found Mr Ferguson lying in a pool of blood and Maguire

Sentencing Maguire to life in prison, Mr Justice Deeny

described the murder as brutal and savage.

He told Maguire the attack took place while Mr Ferguson had been

a guest in his house and in no position to defend himself.

Christopher Power will be sentenced for his part next month.

BBC Newsline, at the Crown Court in Belfast.

A woman accused of murdering 40-year-old Owen Creaney

in Craigavon two years ago has admitted in court that she

Shauneen Boyle is on trial alongside Stephen Hughes.

The pair are blaming each other for the murder which happened

after all three had been drinking heavily.

Owen Creaney was badly beaten and then his body was left in a bin.

Shauneen Boyle who was giving evidence for a second day told

the court she'd lied to police because she was petrified

A former head of the animal welfare charity, the USPCA has appeared

Stephen Philpott faces two charges of conspiracy to defraud and two

further charges of possessing and concealing criminal property.

It is alleged that over a nine year period, he conspired to create false

employment in the USPCA, with the intention of making

He was released on bail and will appear in court

The deputy first minister Martin McGuinness has said he has no

faith in the Secretary of State delivering for people

James Brokenshire insists he is the right man for the job.

Meanwhile, the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told

business leaders in Londonderry their voices may not

Our political correspondent Enda McClafferty reports.

Bertie Ahern always considered himself a political bridge builder

But now he's worried the political landscape he helped shape is under

threat because of a link which is about to be broken.

If we were to go back to what is a customs border

that is controlling people, I think certainly wouldn't

It would not be good for business or trade or tourism.

Unfortunately, it could have a knock-on to those that don't like

The former taoiseach was in Derry for a conference on the economic

He told delegates, as someone who has spent 20 years

negotiating in Brussells, it will be hard to get

This is the man who will have the Prime Minister ear

during the negotiations and though he isnt part of Theresa May's core

Brexit team he feels his voice will be heard.

I am able to attend meetings of that committee where there are Northern

Ireland related issues and I am confident that I am able to

represent Northern Ireland's views and perspective into the Brexit

Absolutely remain at the heart of discussions across

Whitehall in ensuring that the voice of Northern Ireland is heard loud

But The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who also addressed

the conference in Derry has no faith in the secretary

I don't trust this British Government to negotiate on our

I don't believe this British Government has the best

interests of the people of Northern Ireland at

This was the same players who brought us

These are the people who have infighting within the Tory party.

They have brought us to a point where we are now dealing with

This is the line which is going to dominate the Brexit negotiations,

Its almost invisible right now and the question is will the border

be as hard to see once the brexit negotiations are completed by march

That's the big question which is long way

Enda McClafferty, BBC Newsline on the Derry Donegal border.

The Alliance MLA David Ford has submitted a private member's bill

to reform the law around the termination of pregnancy in

If passed, it would enable women to have a legal termination

The President of Colombia is due to travel to Northern Ireland next

month as part of a State Visit to the UK.

President Santos won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his work

on negotiating an agreement with the Marxist FARC

However earlier this month the deal was narrowly rejected

by the Colombian people in a referendum.

His decision to include Belfast in his itinerary

will be seen as a recognition of the role played by politicians

and activists from Northern Ireland in assisting the talks

between the Colombian Government and the rebels.

The body of Munster Rugby's head coach Anthony Foley has arrived back

in Ireland just hours after his team confirmed this Saturday's match will

Mr Foley's funeral will take place the day before.

A postmortem examination in France revealed the 42-year-old died

of a build up of fluid in the lungs caused by a heart condition.

His team spoke about their loss earlier today.

That is what writers. He makes is committed to make a proper

performance. That is the way we're trying to handle that. That is what

drives us Now, here's Angie w drives

us ith the weather. is going to say that way tonight.

Publication shower we are looking dry weather and clearest for many.

Five or six in the towns. Rural areas will be freezing. Ground

frost. There will be mist and fog patches. They find they follows

tomorrow. A lot of dry weather and a fair amount of sunshine as well.

First thing if you have got the mist and fog it may start out quite dry.

Once the sun gets up a little it will soon burn. It will be a fine

day for many parts of Britain and Ireland, just the odd shower. Also

central and eastern parts of England will have showers. Most the more be

fairly light. There will be brighter glimpses. The brisk north wind will

be coming off the North Sea. That will make it feel quite chilly.

Taking early on the coasts. In Northern Ireland in the afternoon we

will have the light winds. The light drizzle shower if you're unlucky. It

is mainly dry. Plenty of sunshine around. Lots of blue sky and highs

of 12 degrees with light winds. It will be feeling very pleasant in the

sunshine. A bit of a change as we head into Friday. The cloud gathers.

Still brightening putter Southeast, the fairly cloudy for many. Patchy

rain getting in for many. It dries up again in the evening. A bit of a

breeze picking up on Sunday. Our next BBC Newsline

is at 6:25 in the morning You can also keep updated

with News Online.