The drug Xanax is used to treat mental health conditions, but its recreational use is spiralling out of control.

 

There has been a six-fold rise in the number of those being treated for problems with Xanax, new Public Health England statistics show.

 

According to these statistics, in 2017 there were over 300 cases where under-18s were treated for problems with Xanax. There were also nearly 250 ambulance callouts for children who had taken prescription drugs like Xanax.

 

Kate Holley from Mentor, the UK's leading charity working to prevent alcohol and drug misuse among young people, believes more understanding about the reasons why they take drugs is the key to tackling the crisis. She says: “Understanding the causes behind harmful drug taking demands an examination of the environment and home life that contribute to misusing substances. This understanding then needs to be used to develop support services and programmes in order to make a meaningful and effective difference.”

 

The rise in deaths and ambulance callouts has been attributed by some to the growing number of Xanax pills being sold on the black market.

 

A BBC Three investigation found that Border Force officers seized enough powder last year to make 25 million Xanax pills. But Xanax is not only being illegally imported, it is also being illegally sold online on the dark web.

 

Richard Johnstone, from the drug and alcohol addiction centre Turning Point, believes the dark web is highly influential in young people taking Xanax. He says: “The dark web has made Xanax super accessible, most of the young people I work with here buy Xanax online because it’s easier and cheaper.”

 

The UK is the second-largest market for the online sales of Xanax in the world, accounting for 22 per cent of all global trades on the dark web.

 

Only the US, where Xanax is prescribed and is widely and readily available, has higher online sales. Daisy Turner* is a 22-year-old graduate who has used Xanax.

 

She says: “I didn’t really know what Xanax was before I took it, it made me feel really sleepy but I wouldn’t do it again. I know a lot of people who have died from taking fake Xanax or not realising its potency.”

 

Since 2014, 204 deaths in the UK have been linked to the misuse of the drug, including taking counterfeit pills.