There is increasing concern about the misuse of prescription drugs. Misuse generally refers to the intentional repurposing of prescribed drugs so that they are no longer used as prescribed. It also refers to the use of illicitly sourced prescription drugs, which may be counterfeit or contaminated. Drugs with the greatest potential for misuse are prescription opioids, gabapentinoids, benzodiazepines, z-drugs, and stimulants. The Health Research Board and the Department of Health have identified the misuse of prescription drugs as a research priority in Ireland.
As there is no single source of information that fully describes the situation in Ireland, the proposed study aims to triangulate data from multiple early warning systems, drug supply and epidemiological indicators to provide a comprehensive analysis of the supply, patterns of use and health burden associated with prescription drugs with potential for misuse (PDPM) between 2010-2020. Firstly, law enforcement drug seizures data will be used to examine trends in the drug supply market of PDPM alongside prescribing trends for these drugs, in the national pharmacy claims database and among the prison population. Secondly, forensic toxicology data will be used to describe trends in the detection rates of PDPM, including for new psychoactive substances, across multiple early warning systems, including the State Laboratory (post-mortem cases), Medical Bureau of Road Safety and the National Drug Treatment Centre Laboratory, alongside national prevalence estimates of use, from National Drugs and Alcohol Surveys. Finally, we will quantify the health burden associated with the use of PDPM, using epidemiological indicators of drug-poisoning deaths (National Drug Related Death Index), non-fatal intentional drug overdoses (National Self-Harm Registry) and drug treatment demand (National Drug Treatment Reporting System).
The proposed study addresses multiple strategic actions documented in the National Drugs and Alcohol strategy, including strengthening Ireland’s drug monitoring system and supporting evidence-informed practice and service provision.
