According to data released at the end of last year, Ireland is top of the table of EU countries when it comes to heroin use. The report, which came from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, showed there are now eight cases in the 15-64 age group per 1,000 population in Ireland, while recorded drug offences here have doubled since 2004.
It’s worth noting that some of the data used in the survey may be more than a year old, and that waiting times for drug treatment services, including methadone and detoxification programmes, have improved significantly in the past 12 months.
Notwithstanding these factors, ask those working at the front line of drug treatment services in Ireland and many will tell you that Ireland has a very significant problem with heroin use, and that it is now invariably combined with other drug and alcohol abuse issues.
Source: Brian O'Connell, Irish Times, 09/01/2012
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