Patients addicted to crack cocaine ‘completely fading away’
A LOCAL doctor who treats people in addiction said he has patients who are “completely fading away” and are seven stone due to being addicted to crack cocaine reports Aideen O’Flaherty.
Dr Garrett McGovern holds a weekly clinic in Fettercairn in partnership with the Tallaght Addiction Support Project to treat people with medical issues related to drug use.
He said he has treated patients who are addicted to crack cocaine who are less than seven stone, and whose issues are compounded by social issues in their lives.
“I’ve been working in Tallaght for 24 years, and there’s always been a drug problem here,” he explained.
“When I started, it was heroin and we had methadone, but now it’s not so easy to treat, because people are taking things like benzodiazepines and crack cocaine.
“What we’re seeing more and more of is a huge amount of people dealing with drug-related intimidation and debt.
“They try to pay it off, sometimes having to hold drugs or get involved in criminality, or, for women, sadly, they turn to prostitution.
Crack cocaine is particularly prevalent
“And their debts are substantial, they’re nearly unpayable.”
He added: “I think the crack cocaine situation in Tallaght is particularly prevalent, I’m seeing it more and more.
“I’ve got some patients who are men but are barely seven stone, they stop eating and they live around getting that drug.
“It’s quite scary to see them like that, and probably akin to someone at end-stage cancer – they’re completely fading away.”
Another issue that has become apparent in Dr McGovern’s clinic is the use of benzodiazepines and he expressed his concern about the potential for overdoses.
As previously reported in The Echo, a growing trend in the drug scene is the proliferation of benzodiazepines.
There is an added danger to this, as many people in addiction will buy these drugs on the street, where they can be laced with chemicals linked to overdoses.
The HSE issued a warning last month to drug users about a cluster of overdoses linked to nitazene in yellow, round counterfeit benzodiazepine tablets.
Nitazine is a synthetic opioid that is highly potent and is 500 times stronger than morphine.
Dr McGovern told The Echo that he has seen the impact that illicit benzodiazepines are having on people in the Tallaght area.
“There is a lot of worry about benzodiazepines on the street,” said Dr McGovern.
“You don’t know where they’ve come from, and if they have nitazine the overdose risk is high.
“We do have some patients with colossal habits, where they take as many benzodiazepines as they can get.
“The whole issue around benzodiazepines hasn’t been addressed, treatment for it is so thin on the ground and it’s a very polarising subject.
“It’s a big problem, and when they’ve buying these drugs on the street, it changes the complexion [of the issue].
“It’s very worrying.”
The HSE’s National Drug Treatment Centre advised people not to buy new types of drugs or new batches of drugs, or drugs from new sources, in order to reduce the risk of coming into contact with drugs containing nitazene.
A full list of drug services in Tallaght, which can provide assistance and treatment to people in addiction, is available on the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force website, HERE.
