Drug addiction on the rise in besieged Gaza

Looking to escape years of war, searing poverty and an unrelenting economic blockade, medical officials in the Gaza Strip say residents have developed a serious addiction to the narcotic painkiller Tramadol.

The embattled enclave's borders have been hermetically sealed by both Israel and Egypt for two years, and an Israeli military assault last winter killed some 1,500 Gazans.

Gaza has the world's highest unemployment rate -- at 45 percent, according to the United Nations -- and 75 percent of its inhabitants feel unsafe or insecure, a recent UN survey found.

Rumors of Tramadol's mood-enhancing properties, and its easy availability over the counter have consequently turned thousands of desperate Gazans to the comfort of the tiny pills over the past two years.

Used medically to treat moderate to severe pain, Tramadol is a synthetic opioid related to morphine -- and more distantly to the highly addictive heroin.

While altering a user's perception of pain, its side effects include mild euphoria, sexual stamina and general feelings of relaxation. It also alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression.

"People in Gaza are in a constant state of panic," says Dr. Abdel Aziz Mousa Thabet, clinical psychiatrist and senior researcher at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP). "Their trauma is ongoing -- with war and the siege -- they need to feel like they have control of their lives."

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