Addicts move to prescription drugs

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise, officials say, largely because it is so easy to fill orders for restricted medicines.

Prescription drugs have become a preferred choice of drug abusers, a Dubai addict says, because there is less chance of running foul of the law.

DUBAI // An increasing number of drug addicts are abusing prescription medications to avoid prosecution, police officials and health experts say.

In some cases, they say, inattentive doctors and a lack of clear regulations have made it easy to get such drugs in quantities that should not be allowed.

"Addiction to prescription medicine makes up the largest proportion of the total number of addicts in Dubai," said Dr Juma Al Shamsi, the head of awareness and precaution at the Dubai Police anti-narcotics department, without giving numbers.

Dr Thuraya Balhaj, a psychiatrist at Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi, said it was easy to obtain large amounts of prescription medication because of a loophole in the law.

People caught with such medicines were not punished, she said, if it was part of their treatment.

"They are considered a safer alternative and there is easier access to them," she said. "If they get prescription medication, they are less likely to get into bigger trouble."

An Emirati drug addict, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said many of his friends who were addicts had shifted to prescribed medicines for those reasons.

"Not many people take 'traditional' drugs any longer," the 34-year-old said. "They all advise each other to shift to prescribed medicine.

"They say, 'Why get yourself in trouble with police when you can get almost the same effect with prescribed medicines, and a medical report will get you through the test carried out with the anti-drug department?'"

The Dubai Police anti-narcotics department regularly tests drug-addicted former convicts to ensure they are not returning to substance abuse.

The department does not take action when traces of certain prescription medicines are found in the body if the former inmate has a medical report or prescriptions.

"Drug addicts call these reports a licence as it would get them through the test," the addict said.

Benzodiazepines and opioids are the most commonly abused prescription medications, experts say.

Sold under the trade names Valium and Xanax, benzodiazepines are usually prescribed for anxiety or sleeping problems.

Opioids are painkillers prescribed to patients suffering from any form of chronic physical pain. Tramadol is an opioid that has recently become popular with drug abusers, Dr Balhaj said.

Dr Al Shamsi said there were some psychiatrists who were driven by profit, providing heavy medications for patients and even charging them for medical reports or prescriptions under false names.

"Some [patients] even ask for specific medications and the doctor prescribes them without questioning," he said.

The department regularly notifies the Ministry of Health if it suspects a clinic of illegal practices and some have been shut down, though he declined to give specific cases.

Dr Al Shamsi said while it was easy to penalise clinics for clear violations of the law, catching professionals operating this way was much more difficult.

Dr Balhaj said addicts shopped around for prescriptions from different physicians.

"We need to have a centralised system in place with pharmacies," she said. "Once I did see a pharmacist refuse to serve a patient with two prescriptions of the same drug but that is not always the case."

Dr Al Shamsi said a smartcard designed to track prescriptions was in the works, but it was not known when it would be finalised.

Dr Amin Al Amiri, the assistant undersecretary for medical practice and licensing at the Ministry of Health, said the ministry was working on an online system in which all prescription details would be recorded on a database.

Until then, prescription booklets for controlled medications had serial numbers and were only provided by the ministry, Dr Al Amiri said.

All pharmacies must lock up their drugs and keep a record of all filled prescriptions, which they must present to the ministry.