‘Street valium’ to blame for half of city drug deaths

Almost half of all drug deaths in Dundee involve so-called “street valium” – pills that sell for as little as 20p.

Thirty-two of the city’s record 72 fatalities last year had taken etizolam.

The drug is prescribed legally for insomnia and anxiety, but has become an illegal drug of choice because it is widely available and costs little.

More deaths involved etizolam – a now-outlawed “legal high” – than heroin, methadone, alcohol or any other type of drug. The toll for April 2017 to March this year works out at one drug death every five days.

SETON SANDS