The number of problem drug users seeking treatment in Northern Ireland rose by 36 per cent in the last year, it was revealed today.
The Department of Health said 1,984 people presented themselves for treatment in the year to the end of March and agreed to be included in the annual Drug Misuse Database - up 520 on the 1,464 of the previous year.
The majority of those presenting were males - 69 per cent - with 23 per cent aged 21 or under.
However, the number of people seeking treatment who had ever injected drugs dropped to 10 per cent of the total from 14 per cent the year before.
Cannabis was the most commonly reported main drug of misuse - reported by 35 per cent of individuals in 2007/08 compared to 46 per cent in the previous year.
Benzodiazepines - tranquillisers - were reported by 31 per cent, compared to 14 per cent the year before, while cocaine, including crack cocaine, was the drug of choice for 10 per cent, down from 11 per cent the year before.
Heroin was reported as the main drug of misuse by 8 per cent of people compared with 10% a year earlier. A total of 73 per cent of those hooked on heroin had been treated before, the department said.
PA