Opioid overprescribing ‘putting lives at risk’ amid warning excess pills could end up on black market

One woman said she was sent ‘bags full’ of unneeded drugs and a former addict reveals he exploited the system to obtain four times his prescribed dose

Jada Woolf could not stop the co-codamol prescriptions coming (Jada Woolf)

The overprescribing of opioid painkillers in the UK is putting lives at risk, it has been warned.

Pharmacists have raised concerns about the powerful drugs ending up on the black market as patients are being given more than they need.

And a former addict has revealed how he manipulated NHS systems to obtain doses so high they could have killed him.