Young adults in Ireland are taking MDMA and cannabis significantly more than in recent years, while use of other illegal drugs has dropped.
The latest European Drug Report 2018: Trends and Developments also finds that Ireland has the second highest rate of use of opioids per population.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) report looks at trends in drugs use, supply, prevention, enforcement and healthcare solutions across 30 European countries.
In general, the reports finds that in Europe drug availability is high and in some areas appears to be increasing.
Latest figures show that over one million seizures of illicit drugs were reported in 2016 across the EU.
Over 92 million adults in the EU have tried an illicit drug in their lifetimes while an estimated 1.3 million people received treatment for illicit drug use in 2016.
In Ireland, trends show that the use of certain drugs is increasing – particularly among young adults.
In 2015, just under 14% of young adults (age 15-34) reported using cannabis in the last year, compared to about 10% in 2007.
Meanwhile, use of MDMA (also known as ecstasy) has jumped significantly in recent years.
A total of 4.4% of young adults reported using the drug in the last year, compared to 2.6% in 2007. Ireland ranks second in Europe in rate of use of MDMA (behind the Netherlands).
Reported use of cocaine has decreased slightly, while use of amphetamine has also dropped.
Source: Cormac Fitzgerald, The Journal.ie, 07/06/18
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