“When we tell them they won’t get any here, they often become aggressive. It’s a drug, like cocaine or heroin.” As abroad, the diversion of Lyrica (pregabalin) exists in Luxembourg. This is what a prison caregiver confides, according to whom prisoners frequently indicate, upon entry, that they use it.
By compulsory prescription, it is in principle used to treat neuropathic pain, epileptic seizures or generalized anxiety disorder, recalls the Ministry of Health. But it is sometimes misused, “for its sedative, anxiolytic or euphoric effects”, especially “in high doses”. Last September, the ministry sent a circular to doctors. The Pharmacy and Medicines Division noted “a significant number of falsified prescriptions for pregabalin starting in 2022, sometimes associated with Rivotril,” an antiepileptic drug. Médecins du monde Luxembourg also warned in July 2023 of the increase in demand. The risks can go as far as death. Especially associated with other medications or drugs.
Dr Isabelle Mouric, psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center (CNHP) and coordinating doctor of the socio-judicial psychiatry sector, notes that “young and precarious people are part of the profiles”. Some come from migratory flows with a traumatic journey. In prison, psychiatrists explain the dangers and offer alternatives. She does not know if there is “a black market in Luxembourg”, but prisoners “buy them on the street”. In neighboring countries, the pills sell for around 2 euros, hence the nickname “poor man’s drug”. Can possessing the drug send you to prison? “Its use is so multifactorial, it would be a huge shortcut,” she says.
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