The conference was organised by the Lord Mayor's Commission on Anti-Social Behaviour.

Video footage includes an interview with Andrew Montague, Lord Mayor of Dublin.

The footage also contains the keynote address by Roisin Shortall TD, Minister with responsibility for Primary Care, Department of Health. Minister Shortall addresses the issue of anti-social behaviour in the context of alcohol misuse in our communities.

Organised by the Greater Blanchardstown Response to Drugs (G.B.R.D), these awards are aimed at primary and secondary school students, college students and aspiring members of the media, to stimulate debate around the drugs and alcohol issue in Irish communities.

The awards competition allows entrants to educate themselves and others about drugs and alcohol through cartoon strips, audio features, film, animated videos or newspaper articles. The winning submissions will be published or broadcast through print, online channels and community radio in May. Competition winners will also receive prizes of notebook computers and digital cameras.

View our full feature for further information

The report was officially launched by Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group.

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Take part in the new drugs.ie online outreach campaign, and you can!

Drugs.ie is looking to link in with other relevant websites and FaceBook pages, by offering a variety of ways to connect directly with various drugs.ie online initiatives and services. In doing so, you can enhance the level of drug and alcohol content on your website or social media channels, by connecting directly with Ireland’s one-stop-shop for all drug and alcohol information and support online.

There are a number of ways in which you can get invloved in this campaign. Check out the Drugs.ie Online Outreach Promotional Video for further information; and see some practical examples of how some other websites and social media channels have become involved.

The National Drug Related Deaths Index (NDRDI) is an epidemiological database which records all deaths by drug and/or alcohol poisoning, and deaths among drug users and those who are alcohol dependent in Ireland. To ensure completeness, data from several national sources are collected: the General Mortality Register, coroners’ records, acute hospital records (via the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry system) and the Central Treatment List. A descriptive analysis of individuals who died of alcohol-related deaths and deaths among people who were alcohol dependent recorded in the NDRDI from 2004 to 2008 was undertaken.

Damon Barrett joined Harm Reduction International in 2007 as Human Rights Analyst and now heads up HRI human rights programme. Mr. Barrett holds a degree in Law and
a Masters degree in International Human Rights Law and has a background in children’s rights and UN systems and mechanisms. His work at Harm Reduction International
is focused on the development of a human rights based approach to drug policy at an international level; international donor and agency accountability; and the rights of the child.

Mr. Barrett was a member of the UK delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs from 2008-2011, and has worked to raise the profile of drug policies at the UN Human Rights Council and within UN human rights mechanisms. He has authored numerous articles and reports, and has spoken internationally, on human rights and drug policies. Mr. Barrett is a co-founder of the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy, and an Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Human Rights and Drug Policy.

Prior to his role in federal government, Dr. McLellan was a career researcher for 35 years with the Treatment Research Institute (which he co-founded in 1992) and the University of Pennsylvania. In his career he has published over 400 articles and chapters on addiction research. He has received several distinguished awards including Life Achievement Awards from the American, Swedish, Italian and British Societies of Addiction Medicine and most recently from the American Public Health Association (2010). Dr. McLellan holds a
B.A. from Colgate University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. He received postgraduate training in psychology at Oxford University in England.

Research in the UK shows that an increase in the number of cases in drug treatment is associated with a higher rate of drop out and smaller proportion of drug free discharge. Drop out and retention in treatment are measures that can be used to identify factors affecting the outcome of drug treatment. In Ireland, the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) has a newly expanded data collection form to record all treatment interventions received by a client during a treatment episode along with details of their treatment outcome at the time of discharge or transfer to another service. The exit form was piloted by service providers in the South East from 2007, and in the North West in 2008. The exit form was rolled out nationally in 2009, and the majority of services participating in the NDTRS have been returning exit information for the last two years.

This medium scale study researched factors that shape and influence the activity of inter-agency and inter-professional practice with teenagers who are dual users of addiction and child protection services. The research examined interface between Tiers 3 & 4 Substance Treatment services and Social Work Child Protection agencies. It is endorsed by the Office of the HSE South Drug and Alcohol Coordinator, the Director of Arbour House Substance Misuse Service, the HSE Shouth Child Protection Department and the Management.

Challenge & Change

The Adolescent Addiction Service was established in 1997 in response to increasing numbers of young people presenting to health services with significant drug problems. The pattern of drug use has changed as alcohol, benzodiazepines, synthetic drugs and cocaine are currently the most frequently used. The adolescent Addiction Service is an adaptive response to changing needs. Through work with young people and their families combined with community supports, it has been possible to engage meaningfully with young people at an early stage in their substance use.

Download conference presentation slides