Laws tackle booming trade in sedatives and sleeping tablets

Laws have been brought into force empowering gardaí to combat the booming trade in sedatives and sleeping tablets.

Doctors will also have to comply with far more strict regulations regarding the prescribing of these medications, to avoid leakage onto the black market.

The long-awaited laws —first drawn up in 2013 — will include benzodiazepines, a group of anti-anxiety drugs, and Z-drugs, hypnotic medication, under the scope of the Misuse of Drugs Act.