Experts are warning that Gold Coasters are becoming increasingly addicted to prescription drugs

PRESCRIPTION drug abuse and addiction on the Gold Coast is on the rise, sparking calls for a new approach to prevention and treatment.

Easy access to prescriptions has fuelled an increase in Gold Coasters becoming addicted to prescription drugs.

PRESCRIPTION drug abuse and addiction on the Gold Coast is on the rise, sparking calls for a new approach to prevention and treatment.

Emily Duncan, general manager of Transformations drug rehabilitation centre at Surfers Paradise, and Kieran Palmer, clinical services manager and psychologist for the Noffs Foundation at Southport, have both expressed concern.

The local spike follows a national trend with statistics from the Australian Institute Of Health And Welfare (AIHW) National Drug Strategy Survey showing that prescription drug and cocaine abuse has risen, while ice use has dropped in the past few years.

Ms Duncan said she had seen a steady rise in prescription drug addiction among clients and 50 per cent of clients in the current program were affected.

“The biggest problems here are benzodiazepines, which are used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and insomnia,” she said.

“Most of our clients addicted to ice, heroin, alcohol or other substances have serious problems triggered by these recreational drugs.”

Ms Duncan said these included insomnia, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. They were often prescribed benzodiazepines to manage these.

“They think they have to depend on prescription medication so that they can function normally,” she said.

“We get people coming in here with extreme psychosis and completely confused about their real problems because they have been diagnosed with so many disorders,” she said.

Emily Duncan, general manager of Transformations drug rehabilitation centre at Surfers Paradise.

Ms Duncan blamed easy access to prescriptions from doctors as a major cause for the rise in the abuse of these meds.

“We know whether a GP is a script doctor or not. Some write scripts after a 10-minute session with a patient and before you know it, the patient is addicted to codeine or valium,” she said.

“At the moment, we have residents who are off heroin, but they’re now completely addicted to codeine pills. They’re suffering because codeine is so easily accessible.”

Ms Duncan said clients who had come off recreational drugs were self-medicating with prescription meds until they reached a depressive, numb state, similar to the one achieved by opiates.

“We’re asking clients who are on prescription meds to get psychiatric evaluations to make sure they are on the correct meds and not just self-medicating,” she said.

Benzodiazepines are a group of drugs called minor tranquillisers, prescribed by doctors to help people with anxiety or sleep problems.

They slow down the workings of the brain and the central nervous system. They should only be prescribed for short periods of time as it is possible to become dependent on them after as little as four weeks.