Injected addictive sleeping drugs caused woman’s death

By Cecilia Park

A growing number of patients have abused addictive sleeping drugs under loosened supervision.

This is why many doctors have not halted over-injections and over-prescription of drugs to patients in their surgeries, although they were classified as psychotropic drugs last year. Psychotropic drugs can affect the mind, emotions, and behavior in negative manner.

Sleeping drugs including midazolam, propofol and ketamine are used to reduce pain during conscious sedation, liposuction and dental treatment.

A considerable number of celebrities, barmaids and other entertainers are reportedly using the drugs as a “pick-me-up.”

"Some say that this drug relieves fatigue, so we are forced to take our celebrities to hospital when they're tired from packed schedule," a spokesman of an entertainment agency commented. "But what matters is that they end up going back to hospital repeatedly even when they aren't busy, because they can't forget the feeling."

A director of a large hospital in Gangnam, southern Seoul, said, "A large number of doctors are selling this drug to make money easily since hospitals have sprawled everywhere and becoming more competitive."

In 2010, two hospital directors in Gangnam made 50 to 370 million won by getting unlicensed nurse assistants to inject propofol to patients as many as 1,400 times. Five including the two doctors have been indicted on charges of violating the Medical Law.

However, health authorities' supervision is slacking and doctors are mixing the drugs with nutritional supplements.

An official of the Korea Food and Drug Administration explained how much difficult is it to crack down on them. "We can't penalize doctors unless they abuse it for their pleasure or sell it to non-patients. If this is used to treat patients, doctors can administer a dose at their discretion."

A female addict in her 30s, who has spent about 600 million won on propofol, was caught stealing it from a hospital on July 31.

In addition, an obstetrician was arrested on Aug. 1 for allegedly abandoning a woman in her 30s who died from midazolam that she took at the clinic to relieve fatigue, according to police.