Over the next four days, TheJournal.ie will take a look at Ireland’s relationship with illegal substances. More people in Ireland are using drugs than ever before. We’ll look at why that is… and the possible consequences.
Drug-taking in Ireland, particularly of the illicit variety has increased steadily in recent years, but the statistics suggest that the kinds of substances we’re taking haven’t really changed.
Cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine are still the drugs of choice and more and more young men and women are choosing them.
Broadly speaking, the most significant drug statistics in Ireland come from the government-appointed Health Research Board (HRB), surveys regarding usage trends produced by the National Advisory Council on Drugs and Alcohol (NACDA), and crime statistics produced by the gardaí and released by the CSO.
The HRB, whose figures feed up to EU level and are appropriated by the Union’s European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), reports on actual trends in drug-taking, together with changes in policy, legislation, and treatment on a yearly basis.
Source: Cianan Brennan, The Journal.ie, 10/09/18