UK. Pregabalin, known as 'new valium', to be made class C drug after deaths
Prescription drug is handed out too readily and used recreationally, say doctors, with 111 deaths linked to it last year
A prescription drug described as the “new valium” is to be classified as a class C controlled substance after it was linked to a growing number of UK deaths.
Pregabalin – a substance used to treat nerve pain, epilepsy and anxiety – is increasingly being handed out too readily and being used recreationally, according to doctors and pharmacists. They say that when it is mixed with other substances it can lead to overdose. Deaths connected to pregabalin have risen from four in 2012 to 111 last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. (The Guardian, 21.09.2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/21/pregabalin-new-valium-class-c-drug-deaths