Up to 10,000 people could be addicted to drugs in Bradford, with half of them estimated to be addicted to prescription drugs and falling under the radar of treatment services, the head of a charity has warned.

Jon Royle, chief executive of the Bridge Charity, the district’s largest drugs charity, said many older women were prescribed codeine-based pain relieving drugs and benzodiazepine for anxiety disorders in the 80s leading to addictions.

He said those addicted to such drugs managed to function normally and did not access traditional treatment services because they never mixed with criminals or other drug users, meaning they lived with their addictions behind closed doors.

Mr Royle warned that the only way for the problem and addictions to be addressed was to get the Government to acknowledge the problem and deliver more specialist workers to treat the issue.

Bradford has just one specialist drugs worker who treats such patients in surgeries across the district.

According to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System website, there are an estimated 5,000 people addicted to drugs in the district, with more than 3,000 people in treatment locally each year.

“It would not surprise me at all if we had a similar number addicted to prescription drugs,” Mr Royle said.

“That is my estimate, and the people we see addicted to these types of prescription drugs tend to be older women who were prescribed them decades ago.

“They are very nasty to get off once on and you can suffer nasty side effects and horrendous withdrawal symptoms, with anxiety and agoraphobia.

“It can take months and months to come off these prescription drugs.”

Mr Royle said the amount of heroin and crack cocaine users the Bridge was treating was actually falling year-on- year.

“Traditionally services are geared up to treat those with crack and heroin addictions, but prescription drug problems are very much a problem in society,” he said.

“There is no real reliable data about just how many people are addicted to prescription drugs and we don’t know how many people are addicted to these drugs. But it is certainly an increasing problem for us.

“We do see a small number and believe that is the tip of the iceberg.

“People addicted to these drugs would not normally come forward for drug treatment services, but we do have a service here that’s based in primary care which goes into surgeries to see patients who are addicted.”

Maureen Holmes, 73, was prescribed Ativan, a benzodiazepine, when she was pregnant to calm her anxiety.

That was 33 years ago and she has tried to cut down her 2.5mg thrice daily dose, but experienced massive withdrawal symptoms.
She is on a much lower dose, but is not fully off benzodiazepines yet.

“It has been quite horrendous,” she said. “My advice to anybody who is thinking about getting them is to get them for an odd week and nothing more than that.

“I would not recommend them. I was told they would help me in 1979 because I was very anxious and they kept giving them to me.
“But when I tried to cut them down I felt drunk, got hot sweats, was annoyed and was in a right panic.

“You think you can’t do without them and you feel frightened. I dare say it must have been awkward for those around me with my mood swings and panics. It is horrendous what it does to you.

“My advice for people is to try relaxation because I certainly would not have gone on them if I had known how addictive they were.”