Drugs: 'Major concern' over online purchases

Charities say they are expecting a "storm" of addiction problems when the Covid pandemic subsides, due to access to drugs online.

Several charities have said easier access to drugs was "a major concern", as some people bought them online to "control withdrawals".

Charity Barod said it saw an increase of 127% in referrals for anti-anxiety drugs in 2020.

There is also concern about what is in the drugs people are buying online.

Figures by Wedinos - the agency which tests substances in Wales - show a 29% increase in samples tested for diazepam last year.

South and west Wales addiction charity, Barod, said that in 2020 referrals for people wanting help with anti-anxiety drugs, known as benzodiazepines, as a "primary substance" rose by 127% - men accounting for two thirds of the referrals.

Steffan Warren, a team manager at Barod, said service users had told him the referrals were due to the ongoing pandemic and it was because lockdown was "having a negative effect on their anxiety, it's having a negative effect on their mental health".

"And that pushes people to use substances like diazepam because it gives that bit of relief over the short term, but obviously there's that danger over the long term," he said.

"They're saying there's definitely a direct correlation between the pandemic, the lockdown and their desire to get diazepam and get that relief."

Diazepam - also known as valium - belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines and is prescribed as a medicine to treat anxiety, muscle spasms and fits (seizures).

But tablets claimed to be diazepam can also be bought illegally online - the quality and strength of these tablets can vary, making them potentially lethal.

Naomii Oakley, director of recovery services at north Wales addiction and mental health charity CAIS, said: "The use of diazepam has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic, a big reason for this is that many service users have struggled to get hold of their drug of choice.

"Although, some have had diazepam prescribed by the GP we are seeing many more individuals buying it from the internet or from street dealers.

"We have also seen an increase in the use of xanax, pregabalin and basically any tablets that individuals can get hold of, this is causing major concerns and issues as the individuals are not aware of the tolerance levels and we have seen an increase in overdoses."

Benzodiazepines were the most commonly identified group of substances in Wales in 2019 and 2020, according to substance testing agency Wedinos.

They said in 2019, 447 samples were submitted purchased in the belief that they contained or were sold as diazepam, but in 2020, this number rose to 578, an increase of 29%.

Between October and December 2020, Wedinos received 131 samples purchased in belief they were diazepam, but after analysis, only 46% of these samples contained diazepam.

The remaining 54% of samples actually contained other benzodiazepines, or other substance not licensed for use in the UK, or no active compounds whatsoever.

The organisation said this was a small increase in the level of substitution in tablets on the same period in 2019.

Another drug addiction charity, Kaleidoscope Project, which works primarily with opiate addiction, said the situation was "sadly predictable".

"The evidence is the GPs are doing their job," said Kaleidoscope chief executive, Martin Blakeborough.

"But the reality is there is still more incidence of us getting tests for diazepam so it's reasonable to assume they're getting it from other sources and those other sources will be through the internet.

"If people are not coming into service they are using the internet to control their withdrawals, but when services are open more and people more confident in accessing them, that will lead to a storm.

"So we are concerned that will be a big problem once the pandemic moves aside."

Arfon Jones, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "There's no doubt that there's been an increase in the use of 'benzos' and diazepam by drug users in Wales over last 12 month in fact around UK.

"Smuggled diazepam is cheaper than heroin. Also it's very difficult for county lines, the drug industry, to move drugs across the country in lockdown, so they're relying more on smuggling it from the internet in the post.

"We're finding increase use in tablets across north Wales from Holyhead to Wrexham and we believe that's it's mainly being ordered on the internet."