HEROIN AND cocaine use continues to rise throughout Ireland, a new study by the Health Research Board shows.
Three in five people receiving treatment for problem drug use reported addiction to opiates, mainly heroin.
The research, which was conducted between 2002 and 2007, shows a 31 per cent increase in new opiate cases, totalling 11,538, during this period.
Although Dublin has the highest number of opiate users in the country, the demand for methadone treatment has been “saturated”. New cases are now largely emerging in the midland, southeast and northeastern regions.
The report, published today, also shows that one-fifth of people who received new treatment in 2007 had previously been treated, demonstrating that longer-term and repeated treatment is often necessary.
Dr Jean Long, head of alcohol and drug research, said the effects of treatment were promising, according to a related study monitoring 400 opiate users over three years. In the first year a drop in crime and drug use was observed.
“In addition, people who have been treated for up to three years are seeing progress in relation to housing, training and employment opportunities. Another promising trend is the fact that fewer users are injecting opiates, which reduces their chances of transmitting or getting blood-borne viral infections.” Instead there has been a shift towards smoking opiates.
In one-fifth of substance-abuse cases cocaine is reported as an additional drug to opiates and is rarely reported as the primary problem substance.
Cocaine users come from a mix of social backgrounds, whereas opiate users are often from more deprived backgrounds and are less likely to be in employment.
Commenting on the research board report, the Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, John Curran, said the figures did not mean the strategy had failed.
“The reality is that more people are gaining access to more services, because more services are available than ever before.”
Mr Curran acknowledged that the drug problem seemed to be growing in urban areas around the State, but said that in Dublin, where there had been a particularly bad opiate problem a decade ago, the numbers entering treatment facilities had fallen. At the launch of a new three-year strategic plan for the Coolmine Therapeutic Community, a treatment and rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol misuse, Mr Curran also said addicts should not have to be drug-free to gain access to residential treatment facilities.