David Lane, co-ordinator of drug and alcohol services in the HSE South, said plans to open dedicated detox beds in the Munster region were "well advanced".
His comments came following a report in yesterday’s Irish Examiner that increasingly younger teens are requiring treatment for abusing a range of substances from alcohol to prescription drugs – and heroin.
Mr Lane said that while pre-teens were not presenting to HSE services, staff at Arbour House, a HSE drug and alcohol treatment centre with facilities for under-18s, could deal with such referrals.
Mr Lane said that while just a single bed for under-18-year-olds is set to be put in place, if the demand was there, this could be increased.
He said it was also expected by autumn that there would be no waiting list for methadone services in the Cork/Kerry region.
Meanwhile, a leading social campaigner has warned that drug use among young people has "become a nightmare," and drug treatment services are "appallingly inadequate".
Fr Peter McVerry said for the young people he worked with, drugs had become the area of greatest concern.
Fr McVerry said young people had increasingly become polydrug users, meaning they take a range of substances.
"It used to be heroin, but now it’s everything from heroin to cocaine, pills and hash. It has become a nightmare."
Fr McVerry said young people linked to juvenile crime were often taking drugs.
He said drug treatment services were thin on the ground and it was a "lottery" based on where you live.
Alcohol Action Ireland chief Fiona Ryan, however, warned that alcohol remains the biggest drug young people were using.
Parents and family members, she said, should step in and try and reach a young person before more serious problems set in.
A headline in yesterday’s Irish Examiner stated 8-year-olds are starting to use heroin.
While drug use has been identified in children as young as eight by the Matt Talbot Adolescent Services in Cork, we would like to point out they were not using heroin. The Irish Examiner is happy to clarify this matter.
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, May 18, 2010
David Lane, co-ordinator of drug and alcohol services in the HSE South, said plans to open dedicated detox beds in the Munster region were "well advanced".
His comments came following a report in yesterday’s Irish Examiner that increasingly younger teens are requiring treatment for abusing a range of substances from alcohol to prescription drugs – and heroin.
Mr Lane said that while pre-teens were not presenting to HSE services, staff at Arbour House, a HSE drug and alcohol treatment centre with facilities for under-18s, could deal with such referrals.
Mr Lane said that while just a single bed for under-18-year-olds is set to be put in place, if the demand was there, this could be increased.
He said it was also expected by autumn that there would be no waiting list for methadone services in the Cork/Kerry region.
Meanwhile, a leading social campaigner has warned that drug use among young people has "become a nightmare," and drug treatment services are "appallingly inadequate".
Fr Peter McVerry said for the young people he worked with, drugs had become the area of greatest concern.
Fr McVerry said young people had increasingly become polydrug users, meaning they take a range of substances.
"It used to be heroin, but now it’s everything from heroin to cocaine, pills and hash. It has become a nightmare."
Fr McVerry said young people linked to juvenile crime were often taking drugs.
He said drug treatment services were thin on the ground and it was a "lottery" based on where you live.
Alcohol Action Ireland chief Fiona Ryan, however, warned that alcohol remains the biggest drug young people were using.
Parents and family members, she said, should step in and try and reach a young person before more serious problems set in.
A headline in yesterday’s Irish Examiner stated 8-year-olds are starting to use heroin.
While drug use has been identified in children as young as eight by the Matt Talbot Adolescent Services in Cork, we would like to point out they were not using heroin. The Irish Examiner is happy to clarify this matter.
Source: Jennifer Hough, The Irish Examiner, 18/05/2010
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