The seizures of pregabaline, the “poor drug”, have exploded for two years in Belgium

The pregabalin, nicknamed the “poor drug”, worries the authorities: more than 550,000 tablets have been seized in two years in Belgium. Used at the base as antiepileptic, this medication is increasingly diverted for recreational purposes.

Some 550,000 pregabalin tablets, an antiepileptic, were confiscated in 2023 and 2024, written the Libre on Friday.

It is sometimes nicknamed the “poor drug”, because less expensive than substances like cocaine. “Investigation data […] show that the price in the illegal circuit fluctuates between 1 and 5 euros per unit ”(per tablet of 150 or 300 mg), according to the Federal Minister of Health, Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit).

Pregabalin, marketed under the name Lyrica, is normally used in the treatment of epilepsy, neuropathic pain or generalized anxiety. But it “is increasingly consumed in combination with other sedatives (alcohol, opioids and other drugs) in order to increase the feeling of euphoria of these drugs,” said the minister.

The pregabalin seizures have exploded in recent years, revealing a disturbing phenomenon. A single seizure had taken place in 2020 for barely 480 confiscated pregabalin units; two seizures in 2021, for 460 units; and no seizure in 2022. But 12 seizures were made 2023 for some 372,716 confiscated units; and 51 seized in 2024 for 180,394 units.