Drugs Awareness Programme: Breaking News

Catherine Murphy, HSE, Minister Pat Carey & Mairead Lyons, NACD looking at the new drugs.ie website at the
campaign launch

The campaign is focussed on cocaine use and aims to deliver the following key messages:

Research conducted on behalf of the HSE has shown that public awareness about the cocaine is low. Nearly tow thirds of users (64%) only agree slightly, don't know or disagree that cocaine is a highly addictive drug and two in five cocaine users (41%) are not worried about the effect the drug might have on their health. About one in seven cocaine users become addicted and around one in twenty become addicted in the first year of use.

Crucially, 42% of cocaine users did not think that taking alcohol with cocaine was any more dangerous than using cocaine on its own, but these substances can combine in a person's system to produce the highly toxic 'cocaethylene'. This can make users up to 24 times more likely to suffer a heart attack.

Speaking at the launch, Assistant National Director, Population Health, HSE, Catherine Murphy, said:

"Experts from the areas of drugs services, health promotion and have worked together to develop a campaign that will inform people about the dangers associated with cocaine use while dispelling the myths that exist around the drug."

The campaign offers a wide range of support services to the public, including the HSE infoline, an SMS service, a general booklet about drugs , a leaflet that is specifically about cocaine and a website - www.drugs.ie - where people logging on can avail of live-chat facilities with experts at certain times.

'The Party's Over' is an integrated public awareness campaign taking in advertising, PR, and online and ambient media in order to deliver key messages comprehensively throughout the country, region by region

Practical Tips from Bishop Eamon Walsh for cutting down or cutting out alcohol during Lent 2008

No time for complacency on drugs use, says Carey

DRUGS strategy minister Pat Carey yesterday said he was “very concerned” at the sharp rise in cocaine use and said action was being taken.

But community activists said the Government was not putting the necessary resources in place to implement plans aimed at combating the problem.

Mr Carey said he wanted to raise the dangers associated with cocaine and other drugs without “sermonising” at young people.

“I am very concerned at the rise in cocaine use. The increase is particularly among young adults. While the overall last year prevalence of 1.7% is still relatively low, the corresponding figure of 3.1% for young adults aged 15-34 shows a disturbing trend.”

He said he was implementing the recommendations of last year’s cocaine report by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, including training of frontline workers and counsellors, as well as changes to drug treatment services.

“This is not a time for complacency. We need to increase our resolve. From anecdotal evidence and evidence of deaths in the last six months I suspect the level of cocaine misuse hasn’t stopped rising.” Launching the Drug Prevalence Study 2006/2007, he said the rise in recent drug use was of greater concern that the rise in lifetime use.

He said a national awareness campaign, developed by the HSE, would be launched in February, and would use both traditional media and internet media.

Drugs advisory chairman Des Corrigan said: “Drugs messages are there all the time: ‘drugs are fun’, ‘drugs are glamorous’. This is part of the thing we need to knock without sermonising or preaching. A drug like cocaine is not safe, it is a poison, it will always be a poison.”

He said the more people that experimented, the more that got into trouble.

He said while the lifetime drug figure was high, it should be seen in the context of much greater use of alcohol, with about 70% of people reporting use within the last month.

Anna Quigley, of the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, said while cocaine was used across all classes, it had a devastating effect on certain communities in Dublin . “There are plans there in relation to cocaine, rehabilitation, but are the resources there to implement them,” she said.

Fine Gael Seanad drugs spokesman senator Jerry Buttimer said: “Drugs Minister Pat Carey is right to be ‘worried and disturbed’ by the escalating cocaine use. But he should also be worried by the Government’s abject failure to do anything about Ireland ’s growing drugs problem at any stage of its ten years in power.”

Support for developing a new National Drugs Strategy for Ireland for 2009-16 sought

The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has invited proposals from consultants to assist the Steering Group set up to examine the progress made under the National Drugs Strategy 2001/08 and to identify priorities for future action under a new Strategy to cover the period 2009-2016.

MOST of the media attention at the time of the drug-related tragedies late last year focused on cocaine. Once the darling of the moneyed young, coke is now breaking out beyond its previously narrow social confines, due both to increased affluence and to decreased cost. We are apparently witnessing the democratisation of the cocaine problem.

The tragedies sparked a welcome, if somewhat superficial, debate on the drug problem in this country. My own belief is that we have to think of "it" as several distinct problems which have different social and psychological origins, problems which tend to affect different socio-economic strata, and which tend to cause different social pathologies. They may also need different solutions.

Cocaine is a highly dangerous drug, one whose potential for personal and familial disruption goes far beyond the tragic deaths which it causes (28 in Dublin last year), however, the dominant drug problem in Ireland (if one somewhat arbitrarily excludes nicotine and alcohol) is probably still opiate abuse.

Opiates, powerful painkillers, are a critical part of modern medicine. They are especially useful in cancer pain. In addition to their pain-killing properties, opiates also produce a feeling of euphoria. Critically, they are highly addictive. New heroin users can experience horrifying withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, agonising pain and terrifying hallucinations after as little as three days of use.

It has been estimated that there are 15,000 regular heroin users in Ireland, who can for the sake of argument, all be assumed to be addicted. Of these, approximately 13,000 are in Dublin. Although heroin addiction occurs across society, it is largely a problem of the urban poor.

Heroin addiction becomes an all-consuming obsession for the average addict of average means, one which soon pushes all other personal, occupational and familial responsibilities far into the background. Money not spent on getting a fix is money wasted.

Unless one is a rock star, or someone else whose occupation provides a huge income without the necessity of regular working hours, all of the addict's energy goes into procuring the next fix and utter personal destruction and degradation are frequent sequelae. Users frequently descend into crime to feed their habit.

In general, three sets of ills complicate heroin addiction. These are: the consequences of the drug itself (being perpetually stoned, dying of overdose); indirect health consequences (AIDS, hepatitis and heart infections due to shared needles); and drug-related criminality.

Our society, in common with other Western countries has dealt with heroin by a mixture of forensic and social measures. We have criminalised possession, use and sale. Unfortunately, the strength of the addiction engenders disregard for the niceties of law. On the social side, we pay lip service to rehabilitation and drug treatment, but we do not give the heroic professionals who work in this most thankless of health service jobs, appropriate support.

We prescribe methadone, a substitute for heroin, to prevent withdrawal as part of rehabilitation. However, many obviously perceive methadone as a poor substitute.

Criminalisation has not eradicated heroin use, it has driven it underground and has incentivised the highly lucrative criminality which many addicts turn to in order to feed their addiction. I believe that we need to think of heroin addiction exclusively for what it is -- a disease -- and to treat it the way we treat other diseases. I am not saying this because I am liberal or tolerant of drug use (I am not), but because our current strategy has failed.

If we made anti-inflammatory drugs illegal, then we would likely have a crime wave by arthritis sufferers trying to buy their medications at black market prices (another reason to tackle the waiting lists to see an arthritis specialist).

No, a caring society provides care and treatment. So it should be with heroin. Registered heroin addicts should get their drugs (manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry), together with a supply of clean needles and syringes for free, prescribed by doctors. In return, they should have to undertake treatment and rehabilitation.

Sadly, they should also lose certain rights, like driving and working in occupations where their impairment might cause a risk to others.

This would be an expensive proposition in the short term, but would, I believe, ultimately save money, when one factors in the cost savings from decreased prison populations; returning addicts to the workplace; and decreased costs for treatment of diseases. Nor do I believe that it would increase the number of addicts.

I am not a drugs expert and I may be wrong. But I am a doctor, citizen and parent, and I think we need to debate the wisdom of decriminalising heroin. We'll talk about cocaine later.

THE drive to curb the surge in cocaine and heroin abuse among young people will form a major part of the new national drug awareness programme, a government minister promised last night.

Drugs Strategy Minister Pat Carey said the Government was determined to stamp out the use of deadly drug cocktails, that often included the use of alcohol with other substances.

His commitment came as gardai investigated a possible drugs link in the death of a young man following a party in Co Donegal.

And in Dublin yesterday, the Dublin City Coroner's Court heard how two young men died in toilet cubicles after separate incidents relating to heroin.

Andrew McCoy was discovered slumped in a cubicle of a Temple Bar pub by English tourists while Mark Cunningham was discovered in a toilet of an underground car-park.

Verdicts of death by misadventure were recorded in both cases by coroner Dr Brian Farrell.

Fine Gael's justice spokesman Charles Flanagan said the country now faced an unprecedented problem of heroin and cocaine abuse.

"This is probably the greatest challenge the State is faced with as drug abuse hits every part of the country and affects every age and every class and social standing," he told the Irish Independent.

However, he accused the Government of failing to co-ordinate the Departments of Health and Justice in tackling the problem.

He suggested that Drugs Strategy Minister Pat Carey did not appear to have sufficient resources because he was "caught between health and justice".

But Mr Carey rejected Mr Flanagan's claim and said there was a high degree of co-ordination between departments and all the agencies involved.

"This is an issue that affects everybody and working together is the way we will get the most effective results."

The minister pointed out that in the Dail before Christmas, Fine Gael's Enda Kenny pledged support for the national drugs strategy.

He revealed that a big concern, as part of the drug awareness campaign, would be to ensure that the whole focus would not just concentrate on one particular drug, while others like heroin continued to be very widely abused across the country.

Five "pillars" would support the government drive against drugs -- information, curbing supply, treatment, rehabilitation and research, he said.

drug awareness strategy aiming to curb Ireland’s escalating drug problem.

A public awareness blitz on the dangers of drugs will begin in the new year, with work places, pubs and clubs among the venues that will be targeted by the government initiative.

Two new cocaine clinics will open in Dublin and Cork by the end of next month, and interactive digital media, outdoor and indoor advertising will be used - in conjunction with a media strategy - to highlight the dangers of drugs, and to promote services to help users.

More than 5,000 people contacted a government-sponsored drug information site in the last fortnight, after a reference was made to the online resources, according to Pat Carey, junior minister with responsibility for the drugs strategy.

Immediately following last week’s Prime Time Investigates programme on cocaine use, more than 70 people contacted a drugs helpline number provided by RTE.

‘‘I have been in a lot of meetings about the drugs issue recently and, from the medical perspective, there is an opinion that is it necessary to go out and actively seek those users who don’t regard themselves as addicts,” Carey said.

‘‘We will be targeting workplaces and social venues with a high-profile information campaign. We want to trigger the message about the dangers of drugs use in radio ads, outdoor advertising, the bathrooms of clubs and digitally, on websites like MySpace, Facebook, Dublinks, iVenus and drugs.ie.

‘‘Information about services can be sent on to those who make contact by phone, text, e-mail or with a counsellor or education officer online. There will be a special media strategy too,’’ Carey said.

The establishment of at least two new cocaine clinics in Dublin and Cork (in addition to the one existing drop-in clinic in Galway) is not seen as a solution to the escalating problem of cocaine use - not least because multiple drug use is also a problem for service providers.

‘‘The Galway clinic was specifically designed to help people with cocaine problems, but there hasn’t been a rush on that, so we are thinking of shifting away from the cocaine specific centre in favour of ones which treat people who present with more than one drug problem,” Carey said.

‘‘This is often alcohol in conjunction with cocaine, and sometimes a third or fourth drug.

‘‘The new Dublin clinic will be in a business district of the city, so that profile of people will have access to it too.

‘‘We are considering locating the third clinic in Cork, and the fourth - at a venue yet to be decided - near a university campus or where there is a likelihood or evidence of existing use or abuse,” the junior minister said.

Carey does not believe that the issue of a lack of public detox beds for cocaine is a major hurdle to combating the problem.

While he is not averse to contracting private beds for this purpose, he believes daycare and evening courses can deter people from the drug just as well.

He said there was ‘‘no-one waiting’’ for the alcohol and heroin detox beds at Beaumount Hospital in Dublin. However, answers to recent Dail questions show there is a 14month waiting listing for methadone treatment in Waterford.

There is a seven-month waiting list at the Ashling Clinic in west Dublin, and a six-month waiting list in Portlaoise. Carlow has the lowest waiting list - two to three months.

Forest is a private addiction and mental health treatment centre in Wicklow. The 12-bed centre opened three years ago. It does not publicly advertise, but still expects to have a waiting list in the near future, according to centre manager Colin O’Driscoll.

‘‘The current drug problem in Ireland - particularly with cocaine - is endemic, rather than an epidemic,” he said. ‘‘I sense it is going to get worse before it gets better. The recent high-profile deaths of young people from the drug may serve as somewhat of a turning point in educating people about the dangers of the drug.

‘‘But the government is not doing enough. Education, prevention and treatment is the three-pronged approach to drugs, but this is not in place on the scale it needs to be.

‘‘It takes so long to get the treatment service in place, and I do believe contracting beds in the private sector - because I work in it - is a good idea.

‘‘We could start building a new facility for 12 more beds tomorrow if the HSE [Health Service Executive] engaged with us. The waiting lists could be cut and there would be savings on planning and so on,” O’Driscoll said.

Chris Luke, accident and emergency consultant at Cork University Hospital, has regularly highlighted the health problems, violence, and deaths that he has seen cocaine cause in recent years. Luke also believes the problem is going to get worse before it gets better.

‘‘I think there is a collective denial about the extent of this problem,” Luke said. ‘‘I see young men who have used coke coming into our A&E department paranoid, with psychotic agitation and pouring sweat.

‘‘They have to be handcuffed to trolleys, and it can take up to six gardai and paramedics to restrain them.

‘‘The problem with cocaine is that only 10 per cent of people develop an addiction, and about 5 per cent develop serious medical problems,” said Luke.

‘‘The other 95 per cent of users assume an invulnerability - but every now and again, there will be a sporadic calamity where someone will drop dead, have a heart attack, a stroke or a collapsed lung.Coke is toxic to every part of the body, starting with the brain.

‘‘It causes astonishing levels of violence - there were 4,000 deaths in the US last year as a result of it - and there really is an awful mixture of depravity and destruction associated with it,’’ Luke said.

he death of Katy French, the model and socialite who had publicly battled cocaine addiction, highlights the widespread consumption of the drug in post-Celtic tiger Ireland, according to doctors and police. It is popular not only with rich celebrities but also the affluent middle class, they say, and it's never been cheaper.

A controversial new book on the subject, High Society, includes interviews with a wide range of Irish professionals, including an alleged interview with an Irish government minister, all of whom confess to regular cocaine abuse

One of Ireland's most prominent consultants, Dr Chris Luke, from Cork University Hospital, this weekend described Ireland as a society entering a 10-year cocaine epidemic. Dr Luke predicted there would be 'dozens and dozens' of further deaths such as Katy's over the next decade.

'There is a spiralling interest in drug-taking among children and teenagers, which also perfectly fits the same curve of the distribution of leaflets and drug talks. I do worry that all you are doing is exposing them to a menu that they might dabble in,' he said.

Dr Luke's gloomy prognosis was shared this weekend by the mother of Phil Lynott, who was the frontman of Seventies rock group Thin Lizzy.

Philomena Lynott, who will mark the 21st anniversary this January of her son's death from a cocktail of alcohol and drugs, condemned the widespread use of drugs such as cocaine in Ireland.

'Children are dying from drugs and dying because of them. Car crashes, suicide, everything. When I go to concerts in memory of Philip, I tell them, thank you for loving him and his music, but don't love his lifestyle,' she said.

Stephen Rowen, clinical director of the Dublin-based Rutland Centre, said: 'Cocaine is quite available, it's in most pubs and virtually every city, town and village in Ireland. We have no way of knowing before people use it how it will affect them - if they could have a stroke, heart attack, some severe medical reaction, or get addicted, which is a very expensive and horrific way to live.'

Katy, 24, died in hospital after collapsing and falling into a coma at a friend's house in Ashbourne, Co Meath, last weekend. Preliminary tests indicate she had cocaine in her bloodstream. The star of the Celebrities Go Wild series had been drinking champagne at her friend's home but, contrary to earlier reports, there was no party taking place.

A gramme of cocaine in Dublin costs around €40, making the Republic one of the cheapest places to buy the drug in the industrial world. Its widespread availability is due, in part, to geography: the Irish coastline provides an ideal 'dumping point' for drug cartels and gangsters smuggling cocaine by sea from South America via the West African coast to Europe.

Most cocaine in the city is cut up with other substances, ranging from washing powder to rat poison. A lot of dealers in the capital are lacing their cocaine with crushed ecstasy to ensure consumers still get some kind of 'high' for their €40.

The bitter irony of the Katy French tragedy, according to senior Garda sources, is that the last cocaine she snorted before collapsing and suffering massive brain damage was pure, supplied by dealers who feed the habits of Dublin's hedonistic socialites and who mix in the same glittering circles.

Adolescents in treatment state they were 12 when first used drugs?

The Drug Treatment Centre Board at its Inaugural Conference on Adolescent Addiction launched today by the Minister for Health & Children, Ms. Mary Harney T.D. highlighted that adolescents attending the Young Person?s Programme stated they were 12 years old when they first used drugs and by the age of 15 they were using Heroin.

Ms. Sheila Heffernan General Manager highlighted the worrying trend in the increase in substance misuse nationally. She went on to say that ?the Board, as a specialist provider of treatment services over the past 37 years, further established a specialist programme for adolescents in 2000. Initially the focus was on opiate use and was largely confined to the greater Dublin region. Today, young people are presenting to our services from outside the greater Dublin region. In 2006 the profile has changed with the majority of young people presenting to this programme being female. Cocaine use continues to increase and our services need to focus on those presenting from the EU and non EU countries. The most recent ESPAD study, carried out in 2003, reported that Irish 16 years olds have one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol use across Europe . This reflects the trends of growing drug use observed by us and as seen nationally?.

Mr. Denis P McCarthy, Chairman of The Drug Treatment Centre Board welcomed the delegates ?this is a marvellous opportunity for like minded professionals to share knowledge and expertise in the treatment care and management of adolescents and families involved in substance misuse.?

This conference aims to equip professionals, working with adolescent substance misusers, with the knowledge and skills that will assist in the delivery of appropriate services nationally.

An extra €12.5 million has been provided for the drugs initiative bringing the total drugs funding to €64m per annum.

According to a statement on the 2008 Estimates issued by the Minister and Minister of State for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the increased funding will enable progress to be made under various measures:

Under the Young People's Facilities & Services Fund, further facilities and services will be provided for young people at risk of becoming involved with drugs. Current funding will provide staffing and running costs for capital projects in existing areas and facilitate the expansion of the Fund into further towns, mainly in Leinster .

Further progress will be made towards full implementation of the agreed work programmes of the ten Regional Drugs Task Forces (RDTFs). The additional funding will allow for the full year cost of projects now in progress, as well as the start of additional projects between now and the middle of 2008.

The additional funding will also support a range rehabilitation measures. In this way, it will facilitate the initiation of the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on Drugs Rehabilitation, in so far as they pertain to D/CRGA.

The measures to be introduced will help to enable people to regain the capacity for daily life which will benefit not only the drug users themselves, but also their families and wider communities. The funding will be used to address gaps in current rehabilitation provision in Task Force areas and will enable the provision of parenting training/family therapy/childcare services focussed on problem drug users. The allocation will also allow for the development of family respite support (to be piloted initially) and address training needs in the community & voluntary sector around rehabilitation.

The 2008 drugs allocation will also provide for the continued implementation of the recommendations of the cocaine report, prepared jointly by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and the National Drugs Strategy Team.

Drugs may become the greatest blight on Ireland since the famine

Most people probably do not realise that tea and coffee are drugs, or that nicotine or alcohol are in themselves even more dangerous drugs.

Marijuana is certainly less habit-forming than alcohol or tobacco. There is a need for a proper and informed debate about legal and illegal drugs

THE cocaine problem was highlighted this week by the death of Kevin Doyle (21) in Waterford, where another young man remains critically ill, and this was followed by the still unexplained death of the model Katy French (24) who had earlier admitted to taking cocaine.

Those deaths are tragedies for the families and a grim reminder that this is a problem that could affect the household of any teenager or young adult.

Those who take cocaine do not die because they awere bad, but simply because they were young, adventurous and maybe a bit foolish. But who was not all of those things in their early 20s? Their deaths are a sad reminder of these dangerous times and the need to tackle the drug scourge in an intelligent way, learning from the mistakes of the past.

Little over a fortnight ago the big drug controversy was over Justine Delaney Wilson’s claim that a minister had admitted to her he had snorted cocaine. Initially she said she had the confession on tape.

One should really be amazed if no current minister has ever tried cocaine. It seems the stuff is so popular among a trendy set around Dublin that at least one minister inevitably would have tried it. What was surprising about the allegation was not that any minister would have been foolish enough to try it, but any of them could be so stupid as to admit it on tape.

Every politician knows what happened to Richard Nixon when he taped himself, and most Irish politicians remember what happened to Brian Lenihan when he admitted on tape that he had tried to influence President Hillery not to dissolve the Dáil on the night that John Bruton’s budget was defeated in 1982.

Lenihan later denied he made the call and protested his honesty, but he was clearly lying to somebody. Maybe he was ill at the time he told the story to the UCD research student on tape, but he also denied on air that he was ill or under the influence of strong medication when he gave the interview. In the end there were just too many contradictory denials.

It was like another former Fianna Fáil minister who protested his honesty by saying he never told a lie in his life. That was the biggest lie of all because he was insulting everybody’s intelligence.

Back in March 1992, when Bill Clinton was running for the White House for the first time, he got himself into trouble by appearing to contradict earlier assertions that he had ever broken any drug laws.

“I have never violated the drug laws of my state”, he had declared on running for governor of Arkansas . “I never experimented with drugs in Arkansas ever since I have been an adult”, he added in 1991.

Of course, the media realised his denials were couched to obscure the possibility that he drank alcohol underage, or that he had smoked elsewhere, such as in England where he went to university, or in Texas where he was the co-ordinator of the presidential election campaign of Senator George McGovern in 1972.

A reporter put the question directly to him in a TV interview in March 1992: “Have you ever broken a state law with regard to drug use and have you ever broken an international law, for example, when you were a student in England?”

“I have never broken a state law”, Clinton replied. “When I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two and didn’t like it and didn’t inhale and never tried again.”

That was like saying that he never drank alcohol; he just smelt it.

While Clinton was in Texas there was a plentiful supply of marijuana from across the Mexican border. A survey at the university I was attending found that about 80% of the senior class admitted to having smoked marijuana back then, even though the penalty at the time for possession was two years to life in prison.

It was a ludicrous penalty, totally out of proportion with the crime. The law was eventually struck down after a black man from Houston was sentenced to 30 years in jail for possession of a small amount of the drug for personal use.

Most people probably do not realise that tea and coffee are drugs, or that the nicotine in tobacco or the alcohol in beer or spirits are in themselves even more dangerous drugs. Marijuana is certainly less habit-forming than alcohol or tobacco. There is a need for a proper and informed debate about legal and illegal drugs.

The events of the past week are a reminder of the dangers and the need for society to face those problems. As a 19-year-old everyone I knew had violated the drug laws in Texas . On one of my first nights there I asked some students where was the nearest bar.

They were highly amused; it was a great laugh that the Irishman was looking for the nearest bar. It was only then that I learned there were some places in America where they had never repealed prohibition. When they talked about “a dry county” in Texas , they didn’t mean it was dusty. They meant there was still a prohibition on the sale of alcohol. The nearest bar was about 30 miles away, across the state line in Oklahoma .

The attitude towards alcohol among young people bred contempt for the drug laws. A few years later, when marijuana became popular — especially among returning veterans from the Vietnam war — that law was treated with utter contempt, too. Even the threat of life in prison did not deter the great majority of university students. Of course, the argument was used back then that marijuana, or cannabis, could lead to harder drugs. It undoubtedly did prompt some people to experiment stupidly. But alcohol had led them to cannabis in the first place.

MANY younger people were warned off cannabis on the grounds that it was a deadly addictive drug, but when they found this was a gross exaggeration, some made the tragic mistake of thinking the warnings about other drugs were just so much nonsense. We’ve made the same mistakes.

Some young people experimented without really knowing what they were doing. A garda superintendent told about a massive drug haul some years ago. He said the packages were laid out on a table and one had been opened and it contained white powder.

He put his finger into the powder and was about to put it in his mouth when a colleague shouted at him to stop, that the pure drug could kill him. He was just doing what the cops always do in the movies. In the movies, however, it is probably only sugar.

Unfortunately, many young people do not know what they are doing when they copy others and take drugs. The whole thing reminds me of the story of a baboon that was given a marble. He looked at it inquisitively, examining it carefully. Then he smelt it and tried to bite it. When that proved futile, he deposited it in his rear end.

That, in effect, is what many young people are doing with drugs. It is not funny; it is tragic and the consequences are blighting society. The ultimate impact could be every bit as disastrous as the blight that caused the Great Famine. Instead of the recent babble about an annual famine memorial day, we should face up to the current blight in our midst.

Taoiseach admits drug abuse is widespread

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has acknowledged that drug abuse and incidents such as what happened last weekend in Waterford were becoming too familiar in cities, towns and villages. Mr Ahern had previously vigorously rejected Opposition claims in the Dáil that drug abuse was a major problem in every small town in the State.

However, during a Dáil debate yesterday on drugs and the national drugs strategy Mr Ahern said: "I accept that it is a problem in cities, towns and even villages throughout the country".

The physical and mental health risks of trying illegal drugs "are so high that an experiment need only go wrong once for serious, and sometimes fatal, consequences to arise for the drug misuser, their families and friends", the Taoiseach said.

Mr Ahern insisted that illegal drugs were illegal because "they are toxic. Illegal drugs are a serious health risk and must remain illegal for that reason."

He said that while much remained to be done, the Government "can only do so much. Individual citizens must see that there are serious physical and mental health risks attached to using illegal drugs."

Earlier, opening the debate Minister of State for drugs Pat Carey said a "new national drugs awareness campaign, focused on cocaine and utilising modern media is being prepared".

Tremendous achievements had been made under the young people's facilities and services fund and treatment facilities had increased significantly. "Approximately 8,500 people are now in receipt of methadone, and a range of services are being provided across the statutory, voluntary and community sectors for various types of problem drug use."

In the new strategy there would be a "substantially increased focus on rehabilitation" and the Government was "endeavouring to tackle the cocaine problem in a proactive way".

Tony Gregory (Ind Dublin Central) said that in Dublin's north inner city in the last couple of months heroin seizures were reported everywhere despite "the hype we hear about cocaine as being the new drug".

The author of a controversial book in which an Irish government minister allegedly admits to being a regular cocaine user vowed this weekend she would rather be arrested than reveal his identity.

For almost a month Justine Delaney Wilson has been at the centre of a political storm because of what the minister is supposed to have revealed to her in Buswell's Hotel just across the road from Dail Eireann. The furore has gripped the Irish Republic, with an entire nation playing guessing games over the minister's identity.

Last night Delaney Wilson said she was prepared to face Garda questioning back in Ireland rather than betray the minister's identity and those of other interviewees who confessed to being habitual cocaine users.

Her credibility as a writer has been called into question; politicians have demanded she be questioned by the Garda Siochana, and organisations representing a range of professions from the law to airline pilots have cast doubt over the veracity of her book.

In The High Society, Delaney Wilson alleges that pilots, lawyers, nuns and wealthy entrepreneurs gave her details about their cocaine habits. The main focus of controversy has been over her alleged interview with an Irish minister who confesses to snorting cocaine.

Speaking exclusively to The Observer from New Zealand, where she is visiting her partner's parents, Delaney Wilson said her lawyer was in possession of a letter in which she informs him she is about to destroy a digital recording of the conversation. Confusion has reigned over whether or not she recorded the conversation in Buswells.

'I decided on advice from my lawyer that I should destroy the digital recording of our conversation. Before I did so I wrote a letter to him informing I was doing so. He advised me to post it both to myself and to his office, which I did. A copy of this letter was sent through the Irish mail and arrived at his office. It has a franked postmark to prove the date.'

Delaney Wilson said she preferred having her reputation attacked rather than revealing the identity of any of her interviewees: 'I gave a solemn undertaking to the interviewee that this recording would be shown to no third party whatsoever. This is not to cast aspersions on any third party - merely to say that it was an undertaking I gave and I took it seriously.

'Following a period of intense pressure, intimidation and threat which gave me very real cause for concern for the safety of my family, I sought independent legal advice on what best to do with the physical recording. In consultation with my solicitor, it was decided that it was untenable and unsafe for me to retain it. It's all very well for people to say that they wouldn't destroy tapes, but until you've had people in your garden and lurking around your children, it's difficult to understand.

'If my choices are between taking a dent in my credibility and absolutely protecting my sources, or risking a tape falling into the wrong hands or ending up on the internet, I will take the hit every time. Where would my credibility be if this recording ended up on the radio or YouTube?

'People will make up their own minds about whether or not to believe me, but I will not be revealing anyone's identity in order to convince them. I will not expose or betray the people who spoke to me, damage their reputations, and upset their families to defend myself from unfair attack.

'The fact that some sectors of the media have appeared to push the view that this book was fabricated is very disappointing. And is simply not the case. The main story here, which is that drug abuse is pervasive in our society at every level, is being lost. The people who spoke to me know who they are. They know I will continue to protect their identities.' '

Meanwhile, Irish Justice Minister Brian Lenihan said this weekend he did not intend to make any formal complaint to the Garda about her claims. However, he doubted that they were authentic. 'It would be a hazardous investigation when there is no basis for the allegation other than a handwritten note. There is an issue of credibility,' Lenihan said.

A two-part RTE documentary based on the book was broadcast recently. The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has confirmed it has received no formal complaints about the programme.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern last night moved to grant opposition demands for a full-scale Dáil debate on the Irish Examiner’s searing investigation of the Republic’s burgeoning drug culture.

Fine Gael and Labour insisted Oireachtas time must be devoted to discuss issues raised by the ground-breaking supplement, which provoked strong exchanges in the Dáil.

Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte praised the “comprehensive investigation” undertaken by the Irish Examiner and urged Mr Ahern to act on it.

The Ana Liffey Drug Project is celebrating the end of its 25 th Anniversary Y ear with a special fundraising gig on the evening of Wednesday 12 th December 2007 in Pravda on Lower Liffey Street . Tickets are available on the night for a minimum donation of €10 and the line up for th e event include s some very special guests .

The ALDP looks forward to seeing old friends , and new , on the night - we hope you can join us!

The Ana Liffey Drug Project has developed a Google Custom Search Engine. The Addiction Search Engine (ASE) is designed to help you find the information you are looking for relating to addiction and drug related issues. The ASE searches specially selected websites and the sites that they are linked to.

There is provision for a capacity of 100 volunteer contributors to the ASE and the Ana Liffey Drug Project wishes to invite people to contribute to the Addiction Search Engine?

To contribute you will need a 'Gmail' email account. If you have a Gmail account, send an email to tony.duffin@aldp.ie for instructions on how to begin contributing to the Addiction Search Engine.

If you do not have a Gmail account, Tony can email you further instructions on how to sign up for a gmail account, and how to contribute to the Addiction Search Engine.

Tranquilliser usage amongst Ireland's medical card holders is continuing to rise, with prescriptions for the addictive anti-anxiety drugs now approaching one million a year.

Latest figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE) show that a total of 963,152 scripts for the three leading tranquillisers were issued to GMS patients in 2006, up 63,918 from 2004. They also rose by 60,000 between 2002 and 2004.

The statistics come from the GMS Payments Board, which tracks the top 100 most commonly prescribed drugs.

Diazepam (brand name Valium) was in the top 20 of the Payments Board's list, with Temazepam (Restoril) at number 29 in the table, and Alprazolam (Xanax) at number 54.

The steady increase in these benzodiazepines is continuing despite the Government's campaign to tackle levels of prescriptions after a Department of Health study showed that one in ten GMS patients were on the drug.

Benzodiazepines are extremely effective in treating anxiety disorders, but they are highly addictive and withdrawal is difficult.

In 2002, the then Minister for Health Micheal Martin advised GPs to look for alternative solutions before hastily writing a script.

However, mental health experts say the reason for the rise is a lack of counselling services for medical card holders.

Dr Andree Rochfort, of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said that such facilities were virtually non-existent for GMS patients and, with no alternative available, doctors sometimes have no option than to prescribe them.

A 2004 report into benzodiazepines showed that Ireland has the highest rate of usage in Europe.

The report was carried out by the international anti-benzodiazepine campaigner Barry Haslam and presented to the EU in Brussels.

The HSE is currently running an television advertising campaign to ensure people take care of their mental health.

The most commonly prescribed product overall in the GMS Top 100 was painkiller Aspirin, which is used to prevent heart attacks and blood clots.

Abuse of drugs, principally cocaine, is fuelling an unprecedented upsurge in soccer hooliganism in the Irish Republic , according to a new study.

A report to be published this week in the Garda Review, the magazine of the Garda Representative Association, highlights the use of drugs by hooligans who want to get 'fired up' before games.

Inspector Tony Gallagher from Fitzgibbon Street in Dublin , the garda station in charge of security both at Bohemian FC's Dalymount Park and Croke Park , headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association, said of the hooligans: 'We believe they are taking cocaine, which is exaggerating the aggression. They are using drugs to get the psyche right for aggression and violence against rival groups.

'They are totally fixated. They look to see if their intended target is over your shoulder; the coins and bottles start flying - but thankfully no garda has been injured.'

Gallagher also tells the Garda Review that his colleagues 'arrested one hooligan who had a huge amount of controlled substances on his person'.

In the current season there have been serious clashes between rival gangs at the Bohemians-Shamrock Rovers game at Dalymount Park . The garda was so concerned about trouble before, during and after the game that it deployed as many officers around the stadium as it did at the All-Ireland Gaelic football final. There were more than 80,000 spectators at the All-Ireland final compared with just 3,500 at the Bohemians-Shamrock Rovers game.

Another measure of the rise in hooliganism is the policing of the main Jodi Stand in Dalymount Park . Four years ago there were only two gardai on duty to police the crowd in that section of the ground; this season there is now regularly a full line of gardai down one aisle to segregate the away supporters from the home fans.

The Garda Review investigation will also reveal that a group of Bohemians hooligans have linked up with around 15 Wrexham supporters that are known to the British police as troublemakers. Last year the Wrexham hooligans attempted to join a planned riot at the north Dublin derby between Bohemians and Shelbourne.

Last night one of Bohemians' directors, Denis Maher, confirmed it was widespread knowledge in Irish football that cocaine was exacerbating the new hooligan problem. 'It's true to say the rise in trouble by a small minority is made worse by drugs. Cocaine and other drugs are prevalent in Dublin so it's hardly a surprise.

'It's worrying that there has been this increase in violence at certain games, especially in the streets outside stadiums. The gardai are right to be concerned.'

There is concern amongst service users and the community regarding Pharmacists threats to withdraw from methadone dispencing.

Monday 15 th October is the date withdrawal of services shall be activated. It is estimated that it may effect many service users, equally divided amongst the 3 Local Health Offices of Dublin North Central, Dublin North West and Dublin North.

The following contingency plan is in place for those service users currently attending Community Pharmacists in Dublin north city and county.

Telephone: (01) 8820 300 Monday to Friday 9am to 7p m and Saturday / Sunday 10am to 4pm

For further information you are advised to contact your Regional or Local Drug Task Force.

ALL mobile phones will have to be registered as part of a Government plan to improve surveillance on drug dealers. Currently, any person can buy a pay-as-you-go mobile phone anonymously, which makes it harder for the gardai to track those involved in the drugs trade.In an interview with the Irish Independent, new Drugs Minister Pat Carey said registry would help to tackle the "rampant use" of mobile phones in prisons, as well as small-time dealers working in the "shopping-centre carpark, the church car park or the local football field".

"If you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear. There may well be confidentiality or civil liberties issues but there are lives of people at stake as well, which I believe overrides any of those. "The measure is part of the anti-drugs strategy agreed with the Green Party in the programme for government. Mr Carey said there were also plans to provide a Criminal Assets Bureau officer in every garda division to target mid- and lower-level drug dealers.

While visiting the team they produced a document of Ministerial Recommendations fo his term of office, These recommendations are as follows:

Currently Ireland has a National Drugs / H.I.V. Helpline which operates between the times of 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Recently in partnership with Sky News we displayed our phone number and website address after a programme they transmitted relating to heroin use in Ireland . We received close to 100 phone calls within one hour of our number being displayed. The need for information and support is most definitely there; however the service and promotion of the service needs to be developed.

Recommendations: A 24hr Nationwide Help/ Information & Advice service should be established and promoted within the National Drug Awareness Campaign. Alternatively, the existing Drugs/HIV Helpline should be further resourced and developed. . Currently we are one of very few E.U. countries not providing such a service.

As the drug sector has evolved there is an increasing need for project staff who are flexible, workers who are skilled in many disciplines and who can respond when someone needs help. It is here that Crosscare DAP in Partnership with the HSE and Dublin North East LDTF are working to deliver quality accredited drug education as illustrated by the NUI Certificate and Diploma in Addiction Studies.

Recommendation: We ask that the Minister continue to support the development of best practice in the sector.

Through the SMS text service we became aware of a growing trend in the use of herbal and synthetic products which are not banned in Ireland , but which can have dangerous side-effects, like the herb Salvia Divinorum and the product known as BZP which is currently of particular concern to us and our service users.

Consequently, we were able to play our part in the Early-Warning System in Ireland and Europe , alerting the authorities to these trends. Due to this initiative we have been invited to join the National Advisory Committee on Drugs Early Warning sub group.

Recommendation: Currently Head Shops in the Republic of Ireland are selling many psychotropic substances to people of all ages without any regulation. We are not looking for criminalisation of these shops however we do believe that regulation is urgently required and should be addressed without delay.

At present treatment for opiate use primarily involves the use of Methadone. Whilst Methadone can assist people to stabilize and make changes in their lives, there are side effects including a much longer withdrawal process.

Recommendation: Other opiate treatment options i.e. (i) Naltrexone ( Nalorex; Opizone ), (ii) Buprenorphine (Subutex) and (iii) Lofexidine (Britlofex) should be made available and be more accessible.

People who have substance use problems should have a greater range of options to suit their needs and circumstances to increase the probability of long-term stability and/or a drug-free lifestyle. We recommend greater provision of detoxification beds, and of counselling services, including out-of-hours counselling for those who have regular jobs (which applies to many cocaine users).

Historically, drug services have been targeted towards opiate users. Non-opiate substance users or non-injecting opiate users can find a stigma attached to accessing an Opiate service or Harm reduction service (Needle Exchange). These services are slowly changing to accommodate cocaine users for example.

The Drug Treatment Centre Board works with primarily opiate users despite being the national body for drug treatment. In its 2005 Annual Report, the number of people accessing their services for problem use for non-opiate use was incredibly low in comparison to opiate use:.

There are fewer options available and accessible for people who use other substances and/or for recreational use or problem users (but not necessarily dependent) and who may wish to become drug-free, to stabilise or who require Harm Reduction assistance.

Recommendation: To establish an open general drug service with a drop-in clinic element as well as Addiction Counsellors and Substance Use Workers who can be accessed by appointment on an out-patient basis. This service needs to be accessible outside of the traditional Monday to Friday 9am-5pm set-up. This service would cater for cannabis, cocaine, crack, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, solvents, alcohol, tobacco etc.

In 2005, 193 children were born to female methadone users in the Dublin area alone. The need for specialized detoxification beds in Ireland is at an all time high. Research shows us that 98% of these children suffer from some sort of withdrawal from opiate use and 48% of these need specialized medical care to assist their withdrawal.

Recommendation: Several studies have demonstrated that opiate alternatives such as Subutex and Naltrexone can be a safe alternative for maintenance prescribing in pregnancy, and may decrease the intensity of the neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (Johnson R et al, 2001). This should also be accompanied by appropriate comprehensive care planning which include access to counselling services.

Monday 2nd of July 2007

YOUNGSTERS in their mid-teens are getting and using cocaine, according to addiction expert Stephen Rowen from Dublin’s Rutland Centre. And a consultant psychiatrist Dr Conor Farren noted UN studies placed Ireland in the top five countries for an increase in cocaine use in 2005 — a trend that has reportedly since worsened.

Mr Rowen, Rutland’s clinical director, said cocaine — unlike heroin — had spread to every town and village in Ireland. Seasoned professionals were frightened at what was coming down the road for Irish society, he said. There was evidence teenagers as young as 16 were getting and using the hugely dangerous and addictive drug.

Dr Farren of St Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin, told a seminar on addiction that Ireland has the highest consumption of alcohol per head in the world by expenditure — €1,900— and the third highest consumption of alcohol in the world per head of population.

A wave of addictions had been sweeping the country and in the last 10 years Ireland had a staggering 41% increase in alcohol consumption, compared with a 5% increase in Britain.

Dr Farren said the link between suicide and alcoholism was well known but there was not sufficient public awareness of the fact that over the same 10-year period covering the 41% rise in alcohol consumption the suicide rate had increased by 44%. He said alcohol can make suicidal ideas more intense, can bring them on or can make someone disinhibited enough to try suicide, which they wouldn’t do when sober.

Mr Rowen, meanwhile, described gambling as the hidden addiction. He said 2007 will be the year money intake from gambling on the internet will outstrip that spent in betting shops.

He said addiction to legally prescribed drugs or over-the-counter drugs was growing fast and people attending his clinic have been addicted to substances such as painkillers, taking up to 10 or even 20 boxes of tablets per day.

Social activist Fr Peter McVerry SJ said cocaine was a terrifying drug, much more dangerous than heroin and causing enormous problems for those who use it. Heroin users knew it was the road to death, but there was no such awareness about cocaine, which was perceived as a good time recreational substance for the middle classes.

“The reality is that cocaine and crack cocaine are drugs that give the user enormous highs and dreadful lows and those who experience the lows can become so disturbed that their aggression levels soar.”

The documented huge rise in the use of this drug, which was available all over Ireland, was truly terrifying and recent newspaper reports about users spending up to €4,000 in a weekend on the drug were not exaggerated. He quoted his own experience of one young man who spent €3,000 in three days to feed his habit.

Mara DeLacy, director of the Stanhope rehabilitation centre, said people in their 30s and under coming to them with cocaine addiction problems were also becoming alcohol dependent. They used the alcohol to help cope with the awful withdrawal symptoms that can occur as the effect of the drug wears off.

On Tuesday June 26th the UN office of drugs and crime (UNODC) will celebrate annual World Anti-Drugs Day. Transform Drug Policy Foundation, the UK 's leading independent centre of expertise on drug policy and law reform, condemn the UNODC for once again attempting to dress up the striking failure of its anti-drugs strategy as success, and failing to speak out against mass executions of drug offenders in China .

Transform Drug Policy Foundation spokesperson Steve Rolles said:

“In 1998 the UN drug agencies pledged to create a ‘Drug Free World’ within ten years. However, The UNODC’s own annual world drug reports have chronicled the continued global rise in the production and use of drugs over the last decade, particularly of the most dangerous drugs, heroin and cocaine. By any measure the UNODC's policy and ten year strategy has been an abject failure, with Afghanistan opium production breaking new records, and cocaine use in Europe rising dramatically.

“But instead of reflecting on these failures and considering alternative strategies for controlling drug markets that do not involve wasting billions on futile eradication programmes and increasing militarization of the war on drugs, we just hear more tough talking and yet more announcements of new initiatives.

“This year, as they launch another initiative with the motto ‘do drugs control your life’, they should be asked why they have continually failed to condemn the practice in China of celebrating world anti-drugs day with mass executions of drug offenders. The UN Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions has called on China to end the use of the death penalty for drug trafficking, yet the UNODC, who organise world anti-drugs day has never seen fit to comment on China’s barbaric practices.

2007 is the 25th Anniversary year of the Ana Liffey Drug Project; established in 1982 in North Inner City Dublin the project was the first Harm Reduction Project in Ireland and has consistently campaigned for and provided services to the most marginalised people who experience problem drug use.

On Friday 15 th June 2007 at 10.30am in the Belvedere Meeting Room of the Comfort Inn Parnell Square, Eoin Ryan MEP launched ‘ Now and Next: T he Ana Liffey Drug Project Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011 ’. The launch was well attended and interested parties from the statutory, voluntary and private sector were represented.

‘ Now and Next: T he Ana Liffey Drug Project Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011 ’ is now available to download from the ‘Resources’ page of the Ana Liffey Drug Project web site. Please follow the link below to visit the ‘Resources’ page:

‘ Now and Next: T he Ana Liffey Drug Project Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011 ’ considers and addresses areas that have impacted seriously on the people that experience problem substance use. The Ana Liffey Drug Project will campaign for policy and service responses to the key issues affecting our client group; including new illicit drug trends, poly-drug use, mental health issues, homelessness, family work and work with prisoners and ex-offenders.

Highlights of ‘ Now and Next: T he Ana Liffey Drug Project Strategic Plan 2007 – 2011 ’ include:

The strategy is ambitious, as it should be; it involves maintaining current service provision and diversifying into new areas to address need.

NEW POLL: Majority of voters prefer non-custodial programmes over prison for most offenders — TNS/MRBI poll commissioned by the Penal Reform Trust shows main political parties out of step with voters on how to deal with most crime

A new poll released today shows that a majority of voters across all political parties would prefer to see most offenders each year diverted away from prison and into non-custodial programmes that address the root causes of their offending and/or supervise them in the community.

The TNS/MRBI poll commissioned by the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults during January 2007 in order to gauge public opinion on a range of issues related to the prison system.

The poll reveals that when given a choice of how to deal with non-violent offenders – who make up over 80% of committals to prisons in Ireland each year – respondents preferred to divert them away from prison and into drug treatment programmes, mental health programmes or sentence them to community service. Prison sentences were a less preferred option, and
received similar support as other non-custodial options such as reparation to victims and community supervision by the Probation Service.

The poll also reveals that by wide margins, voters of all political parties question the use of prisons as the best way to deal with crime. The poll found that:

91% of respondents believe that offenders with mental illness should be treated in a mental health facility instead of being sent to prison.

81% believe that offenders with a drug addiction should be placed in drug recovery programmes instead of serving a prison sentence.

74% are in favour of using alternatives to prison when dealing with young offenders.

66% of respondents believe that people come out of prison worse than they go in .

54% disagree with the statement that ‘increasing prison numbers will reduce crime’.

44% agree that criminalising drug use causes more problems than it prevents. Only 28% disagreed.

“This research shows clearly that the Irish electorate has a much more sophisticated understanding of crime and punishment issues than they are given credit for by the main political parties or by much of the media,”

said IPRT Executive Director Rick Lines. “It also shows that public concern about crime in no way translates into widespread demand for the types of knee-jerk ‘get tough’ policies being peddled by the Government and main Opposition parties in the run up to the election.”

“In fact just the opposite is the case. By wide margins, voters of all political persuasions see prison as a failed response to dealing with most crime, do not prioritise building additional prison spaces as a strategy to tackle crime and, when given a choice, would prefer to see non-violent offenders, who constitute the vast majority of committals each year, diverted out of prisons altogether and into non-custodial programmes and supervision that engage the root causes of the offending or make reparations to victims,” he said.

Said Mr. Lines, “ Politicians often claim that their calls for ever harsher penalties and ever bigger prisons are based upon public demand for such measures. This research exposes the fallacy of that position. In fact, the political parties are not responding to either public demand, orindeed the demands of their own voters, in the current rush to incarcerate.”

“A majority of voters are not only supportive of expanded non-custodial and treatment options for dealing with crime, they actually prefer them as a strategy to deal with most people committed to prison each year. It remains to be seen whether the political parties will have the courage to catch up to the electorate in this regard.”

See www.iprt.ie for detailed poll results and contacts

Summary of IPRT Poll Results

Preferred Initiatives to Tackle Crime

When asked which initiative they would most like to see implemented tota ckle crime given a budget of €10 million, approaching 4 in 10 (37%) adults would opt for additional Gardaí. This was followed at some remove by youth workers to work with children (17%) and additional drug treatment places (15%). Only 5% chose building additional prison places as their preferred response to tackling crime.

Preferred Measures For Non-Violent Offenders

The preferred options for non-violent offenders are drug treatment for offenders with drug problems (41%), community service (39%) and mental health treatment for offenders with mental health problems (34%).

Opinions Of The Penal System

Those who participated in the research agreed almost universally that mentally ill offenders should be treated in a mental health facility instead of being sent to prison (91%). Whilst 8 in 10 agreed that offenders with a drug addiction should be placed in drug recovery programmes instead of serving a prison sentence (81%).

Most respondents agreed that more people come out of prison worse than they go in (66%).

The majority (54%) disagreed with the statement ‘increasing prison numbers will reduce crime’.

Just over 4 in 10 (44%) agreed that criminalising drug use causes more problems than it prevents, while 28% disagreed. Interestingly, the question of whether or not criminalising drug use causes more problems than it prevents attracted the highest level of uncertainty with 19%
answering ‘neither agree nor disagree’ and a further 9% answering ‘don’t know’.

Youth Offenders

Three quarters (74%) of those interviewed were in favour of using alternatives to prison when dealing with young offenders.

Perceived Proportion Of Violent Offenders Committed To Prison

There is widespread misconception amongst the public regarding the proportion of prisoners who served a sentence for a violent offence in 2005. Figures from the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2005 show that 15% of prisoners were convicted of a Group 1 or Group 2 offence.

However, the research findings show 69% of respondents overestimated the proportion of prisoners sentenced for violent offences, compared to just 4% who underestimated the proportion.

Over the next 5 months Politicians will be knocking on your door and what questions do you have regarding the drug situation in your community, This information from City Wide may be of assistance.

Ask your local candidates:

Up until 2002 there was a full-time Minister with Responsibility for Drugs

Q. Will you commit to reinstating a Full-Time Government Minister with sole responsibility for tackling the Drugs Crisis?

The budget for 2007 gave no additional funding for local drug services at a time when everyone agrees that drugs are causing massive problems in communities across the country

Q. Will you make available additional funds in 2007 for the development of local drug services?

The provision of rehabilitation services is critical to the success of the National Drugs Strategy – the rehab working group will shortly produce its report and recommendations

Q. Will you make available an immediate budget to resource the recommendations of the Rehabilitation Working Group?

Effective community policing is an essential part of the efforts to control the supply of drugs in local communities – although the National Drugs Strategy commits to setting up Community Policing Fora in fourteen areas - this has not yet happened.

Q. Will you implement immediately the actions in the National Drugs Strategy on Community Policing?

The partnership approach, through the Local Drug Taskforces that underpinned the National Drugs Strategy has been seriously damaged over the past three years.

Q. Will you commit to work in Full Partnership with Local Communities on tackling the drugs crisis?

Europe has responded to rising concern over the use of the stimulant drug BZP by formally requesting an investigation into the health and social risks of the substance

Europe has responded to rising concern over the use of the stimulant drug BZP by formally requesting an investigation into the health and social risks of the substance. The decision was announced by the Council of the EU today in line with a special legal procedure designed to respond to potentially threatening new psychoactive drugs in the EU.

The risk-assessment exercise, which will result in a report by mid-June, will be undertaken by the Scientific Committee of the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) , with participation of additional experts from the European Commission, Europol and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The exercise is part of a three-step procedure: information exchange, risk assessment and decision-making (e.g. legal controls).

Today’s decision is based largely on the findings of a joint EMCDDA–Europol report on 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) submitted on 23 February to the Council of the EU, European Commission and the EMEA in the initial information-exchange step of the process ( 2 ). This report featured information on the health effects of the drug, frequency and patterns of use, evidence of intoxications and available information on international trafficking and the involvement of organised crime.

BZP is a psychoactive drug belonging to the group of aryl-substituted piperazines which includes substances such as mCPP and TFMPP. Health risks associated with BZP may include: hypertension, tachycardia ( rapid beating of the heart ), seizures, anxiety and insomnia — with certain symptoms sometimes lasting for up to 24 hours.

Commenting today EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz said: ‘BZP was first notified to the EMCDDA and Europol via their early-warning system on new drugs back in 1999 and we have been exchanging information on the drug with the partners in our network ever since. But towards the end of 2006 the number of BZP notifications to the EMCDDA and Europol increased, prompting us to compile our joint report in December and January’.

Five EU Member States ( Belgium , Denmark , Greece , Malta and Sweden ) control BZP under drug control or equivalent legislation and t wo ( Spain and the Netherlands ) regulate it under their medicine-related legislation . The Italian Ministry of Health has recently started a procedure to bring BZP under control as a narcotic drug, while the Estonian state medicines agency is also considering introducing controls. In Ireland sales are prohibited to the under-18s.

Noel Ahern T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, has welcomed a further substantial increase in the funding of drugs initiatives provided for in the 2007 Revised Estimates for Public Services and Public Capital Programme.

“This 16% increase in funding (over €7 million) to tackle drug misuse in 2007 follows substantial increases in the previous two years. The allocation of €50m shows an increase of 87% on the corresponding figure for 2004,” he said.

The increased funding will facilitate:

* a doubling of the amount available for the roll-out of the action plans of the Regional Drugs Task Forces;

* the full implementation of the 67 approved projects under the Emerging Needs Fund in the Local Drugs Task Force areas; and

* continued funding of initiatives under the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund, as well as Local Drug Task Force projects at a high level.

The Minister continued, “The greatly increased amount of money being made available illustrates the importance that the Government places on tackling the drugs problem. In 2007 substantial progress is expected by the Regional Drugs Task Forces in implementing the plans that they have drawn up for their areas of operation. The extra funding will enable the Regional Drugs Task Forces to ensure that the drugs problem is being targeted comprehensively on a national basis. Meanwhile, Local Drugs Task Forces which are based in Dublin , Bray and Cork , will be able to address the most pressing issues arising in the evolving drugs situation through the Emerging Needs Fund.”

Minister Ahern pointed out that at this stage:

* over 440 projects are being supported in local communities through the Local Drugs Task Forces;

* over 470 facilities and services projects are being delivered through the Young Peoples Facilitates and Services Fund, including 188 youth and outreach workers and 22 sports development officers;

* in total nearly 650 people are employed in drug-related initiatives funded by his Department.

“Substantial progress is being made on the implementation of all aspects of the National Drugs Strategy and the increased funding will allow us to build on that. Areas of focus in 2007 will include cocaine, rehabilitation and support for the families of problem drug users.

“Of course, the €50m in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs’ Vote is only part of an overall allocation of well over €200m provided by the Government across a number of Departments to tackle the drugs problem this year.” he concluded.

Source: Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs 05 Mar 2007

The long awaited review of prison drug treatment services is expected to begin at the end of March, IMN can confirm.

An agreement between the IMO and the prison service has been reached and Dr Michael Farrell, Senior Lecturer and consultant psychiatrist at the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry London will undertake the review.

It is hoped the review will be completed in a six month timeframe and the eventual aim is to have services provided to prisoners on a par with those provided to the general population.

Meanwhile a second review of medical facilities is awaiting the appointment of a reviewer. However Mr Finbarr Murphy, Deputy Director of Industrial Relations with the IMO, told IMN the review is likely to be done under the auspices of the Department of General Practice in Trinity College .

In the draft terms of reference it was noted that “neither review will address issues of pay of medical or other personnel” and “the remuneration of delivery of drug treatment in IPS (Irish Prison Service) is not in remit of this review”.

Hazardous journeys to better places: Positive outcomes and negative risks associated with the care pathway before, during and after an admittance to The Dochas Centre, Mountjoy Women's Prison
Publisher :'Hazardous journeys to better places: Positive outcomes and negative risks associated with the care pathway before, during and after an admittance to The Dochas Centre, Mountjoy Women's Prison, Dublin, Ireland.': Health Service Executive 05 Mar 2007

This report provides information on the care pathway and outcomes for Irish female drug using prisoners.

This is a process evaluation and treatment outcome study of female drug using prisoners admitted to The Dochas Centre, Mountjoy Prison, Dublin , Ireland . Questions addressed included the nature and extent of treatment provided, discharge planning, aftercare arrangements and a study of the integrated care pathway. The outcome evaluation looked at whether clients of the service had changed over time

Key activities in process and outcome evaluations include; A review of existing treatment methods and resources; Identification and critical analysis of programme logic models; Focus groups and discussions with programme participants and other key stake holders and a survey of the population being evaluated.

We recruited 40 drug using women who had been admitted to The Dochas Centre. We re-interviewed these women 6 months later and had full follow up information on 75% and contact information on 97.5% of our original cohort. We found the strongest positive outcomes among the crime variables and varying positive improvements in drug use and treatment. Physical and mental health showed only minor improvements. Associated with the improvements were very significant negative risks. In particular, the risk of death, overdose, self harm and homelessness. During the 6 month follow up period 3 (7.5%) of our original cohort of 40 women passed away.

In spite of the negative risks we can imply from our results that the 6 month period did have a positive impact on key outcome measures and that the women showed some improvement at that time.

This report was written by Dr. Catherine M. Comiskey, PhD.,Karin O' Sullivan and J. Cronly, and is published by the Health Service Executive. A link to the full text will be made available shortly.

Pictured below Michael McDonagh and Chris Murphy receiving a cheque from The Allied Irish Banks Better Ireland Award. The team at the DAP are using the funds to further evaluate and develop their counselling services for young people referred by the criminal justice system. It is hoped that the research developed from the funds can help to effectively identify what steps should be taken by the Criminal Justice System when dealing with a Youth who has appeared in front of the courts in relation to minor drug offences.

Should illegal drugs be decriminalised?

Recorded drugs offences were up 14.5 per cent last year. Illegal drugs are now available in virtually every Irish community and there is little sign that current policies are reducing drug use. This week's question for the first in a new series of debates about public policy is: Should illegal drugs be decriminalised?

YES argues Seán Cassin , who believes that the way Portugal has dealt with the problem is worth following

In July 2001, Portugal 's government implemented such a decriminalisation drug policy. From that date, users of any illegal drug apprehended by police were brought not before the courts, but before special commissions composed of health, legal, and social work professionals, whose aim was to give drug users the opportunity to access treatment for addiction and other problems related to drug use.

That public-health-led approach had as its main goal the provision of immediate treatment for problematic drug users, aimed at minimising the social costs of drug use. With this reform, the state began viewing drug users not as criminals, but as victims of drugs. Experience of this initiative so far allows some conclusions to be drawn:

In conclusion, decriminalisation has its origins in the rights of the person to control and enjoy their own bodies. Decriminalisation of the use of mood-altering substances goes some of the way towards respecting this right, while also balancing the rights of society to be safe and protected.

In Ireland , it would mean that a drug user would not end up with a criminal record that militates against future employment, mortgages or credit ratings. Practically, we cannot continue to fill Garda stations, courts and prisons with the thousands of illegal drug users in our country.

The Portuguese have shown us an alternative that can work, save costs, save human resources and ultimately save lives. Why not try it?

· Seán Cassin is chairman of the Drug Policy Action Group www.drugpolicy.ie

NO argues Grainne Kenny, who says that tough laws are the last line of protection against drug abuse

Decriminalisation means bringing the drug problem out of the scope of penal (criminal) law. Law enforcement would no longer be provided for the export, import, manufacture, distribution, sale, publicising, possession and use of drugs that are, up to now, controlled within the scope of international conventions. Legalisation goes hand-in-hand with decriminalisation.

In the case of the former, a form of more-or-less free distribution of drugs would have to be organised, while with decriminalisation (taking drugs out of the penal law system) the Government would have to regulate their distribution and make rules for it. The consequences would therefore be that society would come under increased pressure from the drugs market due to the addictive nature of the substances. Alcohol and tobacco are a good example of this, as they are still our most-abused substances, with illegal cigarettes being our most smuggled commodity.

Which drugs should be decriminalised? All drugs? Should it be a free-for-all? Or should it be cannabis only? Or should it include ecstasy, heroin, cocaine or perhaps crack cocaine? The future drugs according to the UN are amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). Should they too be decriminalised?

Who is to be responsible for the quality and strength of the drugs? The Minister for Health or perhaps the pharmacist? If only weak drugs are to be decriminalised, then no one will buy them. A black market for the stronger and cheaper drugs will continue to flourish.

What about age restrictions? Drug use usually starts in the teenage years, often through peer pressure at school. What is a parent to say to a teenager who has begun to smoke an "occasional" joint?

They will get the same tired old argument: "it isn't dangerous because it's legal". Our nearest neighbour, England , is a good case to study. In 2004, the home secretary decided, against the wishes of parent groups, mental health specialists and many NGOs, to act on the advice of an "expert" group to down-classify cannabis. This meant that people found in possession of small amounts would be subject to a caution only, and have the drug confiscated. The result has been a 22 per cent increase in the number of UK hospital admissions of cannabis users with mental illness. A 1 per cent rise among 11 to 15-year-olds smoking cannabis, believing it to be legal, is also recorded.

Cannabis seizures in London have also risen by one-third in the past year. Likewise, experiments with medically-controlled distribution of narcotics in Sweden and England in the 1960s led to a huge increase in the number of drug addicts.

Advocates of decriminalisation claim that so-called repressive policies have failed and are responsible for suffering and crime. However, the drug misery is greatest where drug policy is least "repressive". For instance, in the city of Zurich - where a policy of libertarianism bordering on depravity is being pursued - conspicuous drug scenes and dealing are tolerated by the authorities.

After closing the so-called "needle parks", they are now herding sick and diseased human beings into "fixer rooms" or "shooting galleries" in an effort to sweep the spreading epidemic under the carpet.

In The Netherlands, use of cocaine and heroin has escalated, with 20 per cent of youngsters aged between 15 and 16 using the former in the past year. Irish drug gangs are now operating from that country due to the lax laws. So crime has risen there.

Drugs are a chemical straitjacket and narcotic laws contain manifold possibilities to help the addict achieve a drug-free life. Drug courts for non-violent offenders are an example.

On the other hand, Sweden , a country known for its liberal and humanitarian outlook, has the lowest levels of drug use in Europe , despite its laws being the most restrictive. Consumption is illegal and prevention is a priority. Parents demand it. The growing numbers of parents organisations throughout Europe are steadfastly opposed to decriminalisation or legalisation. Informed parents are the first line of defence against drug use. Tough laws are the last line of protection.

Addiction is life-long. Nevertheless, the addicts must be offered the chance to recover and regain their dignity while accepting responsibility for themselves and for others.

· Grainne Kenny is international president of Europe Against Drugs (Eurad) and a board member of Drug Watch International (USA

The figures show a simplified graphical presentation of the patterns of prevalence of drug use for each country (left-hand figure), and the position of the country in an overall rating of reporting countries (right-hand figure).

The diagrams summarise the most recent information over the past 5 years provided to the EMCDDA. In some cases data are not available for the country and in other cases, where alternative estimates of prevalence are available for the same year, this is indicated.

The presentations are intended only as quick reference diagrams and should be used in conjunction with the cautionary notes on comparisons and limitations due to methodological and definitional differences in data collection procedures, to avoid misleading interpretations.

The rating maps each country's prevalence level onto a scale of 1 to 100, representing the highest and lowest prevalence levels respectively across all reporting countries. The number of countries reporting generally differs from prevalence to prevalence and is stated in the diagram. Date of data collection is also shown.

Prevalence of drug use for the last year reported (LYP) and for lifetime prevalence (LTP) are give per 1000 people (or students in the case of school surveys), except for cannabis and inhalants/volatiles. The prevalence of these drugs is given per 100 people (or students), to accommodate the information on the same scaled diagram. For problem drug use (PDU) the reported figure is generally equivalent to a one-year prevalence rate.

All estimates are subject to sampling and reporting errors, and in the case of the general population surveys confidence intervals are not reported to the EMCDDA at present, but the sample sizes are given in the tables cited as an indication of estimation reliability. For school surveys, refer to the cited tables and the ESPAD source publication.

Drug company bosses were privately concerned about the controversial anti-depressant Seroxat despite supporting the drug publicly, according to a TV documentary. Current affairs programme Panorama, screened on BBC1, 8.30pm, 29th January '07, which claim there are internal documents from the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), dating back as far as 1999 questioning the safety of using the drug to treat depressed children.

GSK are currently being sued in the US by families of under-18s who committed suicide while on Seroxat. The families claim the drug increased their children's suicidal thoughts and GSK knew about the dangers.

Journalists gained access to thousands of internal memos which the firm released to lawyers involved in US legal action.

In 2001 the drugs giant told its US sales representatives Seroxat "demonstrates remarkable efficacy and safety in the treatment of adolescent depression".

However, Panorama claims that months earlier, the company's marketing bosses said in a memo: "Essentially the study did not really show it was effective in treating adolescent depression, which is not something we want to publicise."

Seroxat has since been banned for under 18s by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Karen Barth Menzies, the lawyer leading a US class action against GSK on behalf of bereaved families, tells the programme: "They didn't tell the regulators or the physicians or parents about these risks or the lack of efficacy. Instead they went out and promoted this specific study as remarkably effective and safe for kids."

A spokesman for GSK said: "We are extremely concerned that Panorama will again, through a misleading and deliberately provocative commentary, alarm patients about using their anti-depressant medication, with potentially serious consequences.

"Depression is a severe and disabling condition. A well-recognised, tragic outcome of the disease, particularly among young people, is suicide. Careful monitoring of all patients is essential, regardless of whether they are taking medication or not.

"In developing Seroxat, GSK has always been strongly conscious of the duty it owes to the millions of patients, including those under the age of 18, who suffer from depression and we refute any allegation that we have failed in this duty.

"GSK utterly rejects any suggestion that it has improperly withheld drug trial information."

Cork Local Drugs Task Force to develop new Strategic Plan in 2007

In June 2004, the NDST reviewed the future role of the LDTFs in light of emerging challenges, and presented a paper to the IDG with recommendations regarding the ongoing functioning and strengthening of the LDTFs and the projects that they have promoted. Seven functions were identified by the NDST to further enhance the role of the LDTFs, showing an increase in the strategic role of LDTFs while complementing their original function ‘to develop and implement a drugs strategy for their areas which co-ordinates all relevant programmes and addresses any gaps in services’:

FUNCTION 1: Information gathering and dissemination: Overall responsibility for ensuring that an appropriate level of accurate and timely information on drugs misuse is available, identifying emerging needs among drug users in their community, early identification of emerging trends & issues and reporting back to the NDST.

FUNCTION 2: Strategic and policy development: Maintaining a strategic overview of service provision ensuring they have a positive and focused impact on tackling drugs misuse (a) to ensure the efficacy of such services (b) to seek to influence policy through the NDST-IDG, and the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion.

FUNCTION 3: Development of Local Plans: Adopting a pro-active role in developing and revising quality proposals to address gaps in services

FUNCTION 4: Evaluation: Engaging both in strategy review and project evaluation processes, in conjunction with the NDST

FUNCTION 5: Implementation and monitoring of plans: Maintaining ongoing contacts with projects through monitoring and support of projects pre- and post mainstreaming with this to be specified in service agreements. To mediate, where necessary, if problems arise between the project promoters and agency.

FUNCTION 6: Training and support: Where needed, to facilitate the provision of technical support to management committees and staff of individual projects to meet their service agreement requirements e.g. arranging access to training.

FUNCTION 7: Networking: To foster and build linkages with agencies and groups focussed on supporting drug users to integrate them into society by enhancing education, housing, social supports and labour market opportunities.

The remaining substantive issue identified by the Team from this paper is the re-commencement of the LDTF Strategic Review Process. This process will build on a number of reviews and evaluations that have been carried out since the inception of the LDTF programme in 1997. Nine years on, with cumulative additional expenditure over €200 million and over five hundred projects later it is timely to take stock of the current situation and review where each community is at this time in addressing drugs misuse.

One of the intentions of this process is to make explicit the link between the strategic role of LDTFs and current Government National Drug Policy. This will contribute to the process of LDTF renewal by enabling the sharing among all agencies and across all sectors of a clear strategic focus on the achievement of the aims of the National Drug Strategy 2001 – 2008 (NDS) and in the development of future drug strategies.

The Strategic Review is a stocktaking exercise by LDTFs, of the needs to be addressed in their areas. It will help to form a view as to the extent to which current service provision meets the identified needs under the 5 pillars of the NDS, and to inform partnership/collaborative working for the delivery of essential local services and determine future priorities.

Research undertaken by the Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy has brought the theory that cannabis use among young people will inevitably lead to the use of ‘harder’ drugs such as heroin or cocaine into question.

The ‘gateway’ theory underpins much of US drug policy. The Pittsburgh research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Dec 2006), showed that those who used cannabis before trying alcohol or tobacco were about as likely to develop an addiction problem as those who drank or smoked before their first cannabis use.

Lead researcher, Ralph E. Tarter, said of the findings, “It runs counter to about six decades of drug policy in the country, where we believe that if we can't stop kids from using marijuana, then they're going to go on and become addicts to hard drugs."

Neil Capretto, medical director of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa , Pennsylvania , said some addicted patients' first drug was heroin, not alcohol or cannabis. He said the study "really shows the complex nature of addiction. What they're showing here is what we've been seeing in practice for years."

Capretto added that most people who use cannabis never go on to use so called ‘harder’ drugs. "If we could push a button and all the marijuana would go away, by no means will that stop the drug problem in this country," he said.

Drug campaigners in the U.K. have recently warned of large batch’s of cannabis which has been contaminated with tiny glass beads which they say could pose a risk to health has flooded the UK market. Now we know that this contaminated cannabis has reached Ireland. Gardai late last year seized a shipment which was shown to contain these glass particles under analysis.

The contamination seems to be wide spread and seems to be happening at the processing stage and it is believed that the reason for this is to simply bump up the weight of the product and increase profits for the dealers said Michael McDonagh of Crosscares Drugs Awareness Programme here in Dublin . We have started to receive calls from concerned users of cannabis who believe that they have used the contaminated products as recently as today. Much of these helpcalls have come in online via our Live Help facility on www.dap.ie

Michael stated that the contaminated leaves can be identified by rubbing them between wetted fingers. The residue will feel gritty if chewed.

The symptoms from someone who has used contaminated products would include a tight chest which can last for days after smoking. If you are experiencing this type of pain you are advised by the Drugs Awareness Programme to seek medical assistance even though the contaminated product is not seen to be life threatening.

‘Space to breathe’ campaign prepares Northern Ireland to go smoke-free on 30 April

‘Space to breathe’, a campaign to prepare the public and businesses in Northern Ireland for the implementation of smoke-free legislation on Monday 30 April 2007, was launched today by the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA).

The new campaign aims to raise awareness about the legislation and encourage compliance and support from all businesses and the public, in particular smokers.

Dr Brian Gaffney, Chief Executive of the HPA, said: “There is no doubt that breathing in other people’s smoke significantly increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and asthma. Around 3,000 lives are lost each year in Northern Ireland as a result of tobacco related illnesses, most of which are preventable. 1

“This legislation, which has received overwhelming support from the public, will save lives. We know that the majority of adults in Northern Ireland (74%) are non-smokers and the majority of people who do smoke (77%) want to quit. 2 Everyone has the right to work and socialise in a smoke-free environment and from 30 April we can all look forward to a healthier, smoke-free future.”