Some contain fentanyl, a substance 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Kildare is facing a growing crisis as counterfeit anti-anxiety drugs, known as fake benzodiazepines or "benzos," infiltrate local communities.
These drugs, sold for as little as €2 per tablet, are increasingly being used by vulnerable individuals, including school students, GAA and soccer club members, and those struggling with mental health issues.
Tom Moran, a community employment supervisor with the addiction rehab charity Cuan Mhuire in Athy, has raised alarm about the dangers these fake drugs pose.
"What we are seeing is that these tablets often contain synthetic opiates, like nitazines, which are far more potent and dangerous than real benzodiazepines," Moran explained.
"Some even contain fentanyl, a substance 100 times more powerful than morphine."
Margaret Hawkins, who wrote about the issue in the Irish Farmers Journal, highlighted how fake benzos are linked to severe side effects, including psychosis, worsening depression, suicidal thoughts, and even sudden death.
Wally O’Neill, director of the Wexford mental health charity, Sanctuary, formerly Wexford People Helping People, said: “It’s a category of drugs that’s being overlooked,” he says.
“You have tablets like Tranax and Xanax that traditionally are used to treat anxiety and depression. The people who are being targeted with these drugs wouldn’t dream of taking a line of cocaine or taking heroin. They are not criminals. This is the girl working down in the chipper on a Saturday night who might be feeling depressed. This is the young lad playing hurling who has broken up with his girlfriend.”
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