Diversion tactics: How a sample of drug misusers in treatment obtained surplus drugs to sell on the illicit market

This paper presents some findings from a qualitative study conducted during 1995 and 1996 amongst buyers and sellers of diverted prescription drugs in London. It details the tactics sellers employed to obtain drugs surplus to their own requirements in order to sell them on the illicit market: they acquired more than one prescription (‘multiple scripting’) and/or obtained a prescription for a higher dosage and/or a wider variety of drugs than they intended to use themselves (‘overscripting’). Informants exploited the lack of a standardised prescribing policy by ‘doctor shopping’, whereby they searched out those most likely to prescribe the drugs and the quantity they wanted. The methods most commonly used to acquire a surplus were to exaggerate a habit, bargain with prescribers, give a false identity, gain the sympathy of prescribers, feign addiction, and pretend to be a temporary resident. To conclude, some costs and benefits of diversion and its control are discussed.