John Wies is feeling relieved. Each morning at 9.30am he blows into a breathalyser and finds out whether he will endure a day of agony. If he is above 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – the same as the driving limit – he cannot be given his daily prescription. On the Friday morning we meet him he has blown 28mcg.
John is a heroin addict and Espranor is his substitute for the Class A opioid but there are times when he has drunk too much alcohol to safely take his daily tablet. On such occasions he knows he is in for "a very tough day" of withdrawal. "The medication has got to be working because I'm out here talking to you and I haven't used today," the homeless 50-year-old tells us in Swansea's Wind Street as he sips from a can of Ace hard cider.
Midday is nearing as we ask John if he expects to use heroin today. He lays a hand on one of the tables stacked outside Popworld nightclub. "Touch wood, hopefully I won't," he says before adding: "I suppose at some point today I will use but I'm trying to cut down to once a day. Some days it does go over. At my worst point it could be over five times a day very easy."
