In 2023, the number of deaths from drug overdoses in Manchester reached the highest point in the city’s recorded history – jumping 70% in just five years.
This is according to recent data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that charted deaths from drug overdoses by region across England and Wales.
Cocaine
In the North West, deaths attributed to cocaine have soared – rising by over 50% in five years and taking the lives of over 800 men and women.
Seventeen years after his first hit of cocaine in a Warrington nightclub, ‘Mad’ Mike Phenix was a hair’s-breadth away being one of those who tragically lost their life.
“I was hanging around with some older lads. They were all doing it. I thought ‘I want a key’. That’s how it started.”
Mike is a recovering cocaine addict, podcast host and footballer, currently playing as a forward for Northern Premier League team Wythenshawe.
“My hometown is a small town outside of Manchester, but it must have had 30 coke dealers in it. And they’ll meet you anywhere you are in 10 minutes,” he says.
“Cocaine addiction is rife across the country, it’s absolutely rife.
“I was 24 when I started to isolate myself. That was the point when it started getting out of control, sniffing coke alone in my bedroom. You can’t keep relationships or friendships going if you’re hiding away in a bedroom for two days straight.”
Over the years, Mike’s addiction spiralled. He lost his partner, custody of his child, and he received a four-year ban from football for his drug abuse.
“I’d had enough. I couldn’t see my daughter, my Dad had had enough of me. I’d turned into a thief, a liar, a manipulator, a f******g awful father.”
In December of last year, Mike attempted to take his own life – locking himself in a hotel room and ‘sniffing through’ £1000 of cocaine.
But three quarters of the way through his supply, Mike’s family burst through the door.
“I was foaming at the mouth, lying naked on the floor. I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. I’d not taken enough to stop my heart. Unfortunately.”
Mike kept using even after he’d been discharged from hospital, spending three days sniffing cocaine at his father’s house.
“On the fourth day I opened my eyes and saw my sister. She begged me to stop. That was when I decided to get help.”
Since then, Mike’s life has completely changed.
“I’m going to court next month to get my child back. I’ve got a business that’s thriving. I’ve got a new partner. I pay my own bills again. I go into rehabs in Manchester to help others. I help a lot of people.”
Pregabalin
Heroin and morphine remain the biggest cause of drug overdose deaths in the North West, despite falling 13% in the year 2022-2023.
However, there has been a startling rise in the number of deaths attributed to pregabalin; a once prescription-only medication used to treat epilepsy and nerve pain that has become the street drug of choice for Manchester’s homeless community.
Across England and Wales, the number of overdose deaths attributed to pregabalin has almost tripled since 2018, with Manchester and the North West amongst the hardest hit by the new street drug.
Pregabalin can be bought for less than £1 a pill through dealers on messaging apps, and, in the North West in particular, overdose deaths attributed to pregabalin have more than doubled since 2018 – taking the lives of 307 men and women.
Data from the ONS only goes as far as 2023, and doesn’t show Manchester-specific pregabalin deaths, but reports from front-line drug workers in Manchester say it has been ‘ravaging’ the homeless community in the past year.
Nitazenes
Last year, the number of drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people was over two-and-a-half times higher in Manchester than in London, and was over 60% higher than the combined average of England and Wales.
But experts warn that unless government policy changes these numbers could pale in comparison to a coming drug crisis concerning nitazenes.
Nitazenes are a family of synthetic opioids that are often stronger than Fentanyl or Oxycontin.
Vicki Beere is the Vice-Chair of Transform Drug Policy Foundation, a charity that gives a voice to those affected by the failures of the UK’s drug policy.
“There’s an opium drought coming from Afghanistan,” she says.
“The Taliban are cracking down on the production of opium, and the supply of natural heroin will dry out in the next one-to-two years.”
Ms Beere says that there is a very real fear among those who work in drug harm reduction that the gap in natural opioids will be filled by synthetic opioids.
“Every area of the country has been asked to plan for the arrival of nitazenes,” she says. “Look at the United States and the number of drug deaths from Fentanyl. That’s what we could be facing.
“Ten, twenty, thirty people could die in a weekend.”
What can we do?
Ms Beere says that while Manchester City Council are hamstrung by government drug policy, there are still things they could be doing to better prepare.
“There are four things we could be doing nationally, or making plans to do locally.
“The first would be drug safety checking and testing, where people can test what’s in their drugs. The drugs people are taking come, generally, through the hands of organised crime.”
Drug dealers often cut heroin with stronger, cheaper, synthetic opioids like Fentanyl, meaning heroin users don’t know exactly what is going into their bodies and can’t judge the doses accordingly.
The Manchester Drug Analysis and Knowledge Exchange (MANDRAKE) is the first publicly-funded drug testing and harm reduction centre in the UK. However, MANDRAKE is not available to individuals.
Wedinos is the only option available to those wanting to test their drugs, but results typically take two to three weeks to come back.
“If the government would allow community drug checking, that would make things much safer.
“The second thing is making sure all opiate prescribing services are available on the same day, and provide heroin-assisted treatment for people for whom methadone just doesn’t work.
“Thirdly, they could provide enhanced harm reduction services and check-ins in hostels.
“And finally they could set up overdose prevention centres or drug consumption rooms across every city in the country.”
Drug consumption rooms are places where addicts can safely take drugs like heroin and cocaine under the watch of a professional who can provide immediate medical attention in the event of an overdose.
Glaswegian drug worker Peter Krykant ran an unsanctioned drug consumption room out of a minivan from September 2020 to May 2021. The team oversaw 894 heroin injections and nine overdose events, all without a single fatality.
The first legal drug consumption room was green-lit to open in Glasgow in October of this year. It has since been delayed.
Ms Beere says that things will only begin to change when people press the government to act, but social stigma around helping addicts means it’s unlikely to happen soon.
“Addicts are marginalized; they’re judged. Even some people working in healthcare see it as a lifestyle choice.
“There’s no interest in discussing this at the top level of politics, and there’s not a groundswell of people at the local level fighting for drug policy change from their councillor.
“We need to have the same public conversation about addiction that we’ve seen with mental health over the past few years.”
Manchester City Council were contacted for comment about measures they’re taking to curb overdose deaths, but did not respond.
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For more information on speaking to your MP or councillor about drug reform, visit Transform Drug Policy’s website.
And if you have been affected by this article, please reach out to Change, Grow, Live.
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Featured Image: Sam Metsfan on Wikimedia
