Almost every day in Dublin, the emergency services are called to the scene of a drug overdose. Walk down any alleyway in the capital, and the evidence is there: discarded needles, citric wrappers, tinfoil and, occasionally, human excrement. In August, there was a media furore when a passenger shot up on Dublin Bus, but anyone who regularly uses the Luas red line will almost certainly have witnessed a similar scene.
A study of Dublin ambulance services showed that, in 2012, there were at least 469 overdoses, of which 13 were fatal. In the suburbs, people tend to overdose at home; in the city, it happens on the streets. Separately, data from the Health Research Board suggests that, on average, one person dies of a drug overdose per day in Ireland – about twice the death rate from road crashes.
This may be about to change. Dublin’s Ana Liffey Drug Project, working with the Bar Council’s voluntary assistance scheme, has drafted legislation that would allow addicts to take drugs in a safe, medically supervised injection centre (MSIC).
Source: Peter McGuire, The Irish Times, 15/09/15
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
