Addicted to pills hyped by rappers
TEENAGERS are getting hooked on the deadly painkiller Xanax after hearing it sung about in songs from rappers such as Eminem and Lil Wayne.
The drug’s popularity has soared in recent years, with medical chiefs concerned US musicians and celebrities are to blame.
Unavailable in the UK, addicts have been snapping up the American prescription drug on the dark web.
Two online sellers known as Hulked Benzo Boss and UKBenzos are selling packs of 1,000 pills and instructions to dealers.
The drug is a key part of pop culture in the US and has been used by celebrities including Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber.
It even makes its way into popular tracks, with Eminem rapping: “I get these panic attacks, pop a Xanax, relax”.
Last year US rapper Lil Peep, 21, died after overdosing on Xanax.
It has been estimated that at least 1.5million counterfeit Xanax pills have been sold in Britain since 2015. Earlier this year, Police Scotland called for help following 20 Xanaxrelated deaths – the force calling the growing toll a “national issue”.
A type of benzodiazepine banned by the NHS, millions of the potentially lethal pills have now been
seized by the UK’s Border Force. Colin Drummond, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “After just a few weeks of taking benzodiazepines, you develop dependence so your tolerance increases and you take larger and larger doses.”