The trial of a man charged with poisoning four elderly women with a hypnotic sedative drug began before Judge Kevin Haugh in the Western Circuit Court yesterday.
Mr John Hope of Ballina, Co Mayo, has denied administering a substance known to interfere with the bodily functions of four women without their consent.
Mr John Jordan, for the DPP, told the jury it was the State's case that Mr Hope had intentionally or recklessly administered the drug to the four women without their consent.
"He called on these ladies, gave them something to drink, left them for some time and then in the hours or days after, they felt unwell." He said they would give evidence that they "did not know he was giving this substance to them".
Dr Desmond Corrigan, head of the School of Pharmacy, Dublin, said that the drug Temazepan, which had a number of trade names including Normazon, was one of a group of sedative/ hypnotic drugs that cause sleep. It was used to treat severe insomnia and was a pre-medication before surgery. It was a prescription-only drug. A normal adult dose of between 10 mg to 20 mg a day would be reduced to half for elderly people. They would be more than likely to suffer from unsteadiness and confusion and be liable to falling and suffering injuries.
Other side effects could include drowsiness, a type of amnesia about what happened after the drug was taken, depression, disinhibition, loss of restraint in self-injury, suicide and psychotic actions.
Overdose side effects would include sedation, slurred speech, poor co-ordination, anxiety, confusion, vertigo and muscle weakness. Over a long period it led to addiction. Doctors who treated the women at their homes and in hospital gave evidence of when they treated them. A local pharmacist said in October 1997 and October 1998, four months' worth of Temazepan had been dispensed in the name of Mr Hope's elderly mother.
The trial is expected to last the rest of the week.