Opioid crisis quietly spreads in Gaza, trapping thousands in hell of addiction, adding to misery of blockaded strip. By faresakram.
In this Oct. 22, 2018 photo, Hamas security forces prepare to burn some 1,383 bars of hashish and 1,242,000 pills of Tramadol, that have been seized since the beginning of 2018, in Gaza City. An opioid crisis has quietly spread in the Gaza Strip, trapping thousands of people in the hell of addiction and adding another layer of misery to the blockaded and impoverished coastal territory.
There are no reliable estimates for the number of addicts in Gaza, a conservative society of 2 million where it is considered shameful to admit to such a problem. A 2017 study by the World Health Organization estimated that 10,047 males over the age of 15 were “high-risk drug users.” Tramadol, a synthetic opioid analgesic, is considered a controlled substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in the same category as well-known medications like Valium and Xanax.
Tramal was cheap, less than 50 cents a tablet, and people discovered its sedative effects at a time when they were “trying to overcome their anxiety because Gaza was a very traumatic environment,” said Dr. Ashour. Some countries don’t view it “really as an opioid,” which he called a “mistake” that can lead to wider use and addiction.
Being a health worker himself, Abu Karim was able to get prescriptions to buy the milder Tramadol legally and more affordably. The nurse assured him these are withdrawal symptoms and led him to his room, which had two beds with red mattress covers and a caged window, and gave him an injection.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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