ESPERANCE is blighted by a hidden drug addiction problem and is one of the worst affected country towns in the state, says a Perth-based doctor.
Dr George O'Neil, who runs the Fresh Start drug rehabilitation clinic in Perth, says there is a growing problem in Esperance involving the misuse of legal opioids.
According to Dr O'Neil, drugs originally intended as a long-term treatment for people addicted to illegal opioids, such as heroin, are being abused and have become commodities on the black market.
"We get patients flying up to our clinic from Esperance every week. The sickest, most troubled people are from Esperance."
Although treating patients from all over the state, Dr O'Neil said Esperance was one of the worst affected areas he had encountered at his clinic.
"There is a horrible problem in Esperance," he said.
"We don't know if these legal opioids are coming from GPs or through the mail but Esperance is a mess."
"We get patients flying up to our clinic from Esperance every week. The sickest, most troubled people are from Esperance."
"It effects a lot of indigenous people and also people in their 20s."
Dr O'Neil listed suboxone, which contains buprenorphine, as one of the drugs that was being abused in the community.
"People are simply substituting one opioid for another," he said.
"I think the community need to remind the federal government to fix this problem up."
Dr O'Neil said the federal government needed to restrict the use of suboxone and also crack down on its black market distribution via the postal system.
"In terms of the work we do at Fresh Start, the state government has been fantastic but the federal government needs to change its policy. It needs to fix this up."
There was also a lack of awareness at the local community level about the extent of the problem, Dr O'Neil said.
"If we don't help people while they are in their 20s and still young, it will lead to social problems such as crime and prostitution," he said.
"There will be a deterioration in the community."
