HEROIN ABUSE GROWING AS YOUNGER TEENS TURN TO DRUGS

Heroin abuse in Dublin is getting worse: the number of addicts is
higher than previously estimated, it was claimed last night.

The number of heroin abusers in the city was estimated to be between
13,000 and 15,000 two years, ago but that number has grown since then,
said a local drugs task force chairman David Connolly.

Heroin abuse by young people is growing because the supply has
increased and the drug has become cheaper. The sheer scale of heroin
in the city has spawned ``a huge economy'' in drug dealing, with large
numbers of people getting small, regular sums of money for
distribution compared to a small number of wealthy drug ``barons,'' he
said.

Children as young as 12 are heroin addicts in Dublin. Their
introduction to the drug was frighteningly easy because they can smoke
it in cigarettes it's called ``chasing the dragon,'' said Mr Connolly.
Particularly worrying is the younger age of addicts with growing
numbers of young people aged between 15 and 18 becoming hooked. In the
past, people were generally older when they became involved.

``The scale of heroin abuse is a new phenomenon ... the gardai are
very stretched and they have admitted they are only scratching the
surface,'' he said.

Mr Connolly, chairman of Ballyfermot Drugs Task Force, spoke at the
introduction of his group's first progress report yesterday. Task
forces were set up in a number of Dublin areas to tackle the drugs
problem two years ago.

He said one person in every 25 in Ballyfermot was abusing heroin. An
estimated 1,000 heroin abusers live in Ballyfermot, he said.

The area was fighting back against the drugs menance in their area
with the help of pounds 1.6m in State funding to develop initiatives
aimed at young people at risk.

He said it was crucial that the community leads the response to the
problem. Children must be persuaded that it is worthwhile to continue
attending school; parents must learn how to steer children away from
drugs; gardai and the community need to work together; adequate
treatment and rehabilitation must be provided for drug abusers; and
support services must be available for their families.

Activities arranged through the Ballyfermot task force
include:

* A doubling of treatment and care services in two
years.

* A family centre, drug-free rehabilitation centre and stabilisation
unit due to open in January.

* Twenty long-term unemployed people now employed in organising youth
activities at street level.

* A new project, Fusion, is helping people who have used drugs to take
part in community employment and training.

* A project to help Ballyfermot prisoners in Wheatfield Prison to plan
for their return to the community.

* Families with chronic heroin dependency to receive specialist
support.

* Activities and sports for young people.

Junior Minister Chris Flood, with special responsibility for the
National Drugs Strategy, said Ballyfermot was an excellent example of
what can be achieved by partnership between communities and statutory
agencies.

Thanks to a community based response in Ballyfermot, one of the worst
areas in the country for drugs, has a wide range of supports and
services for drug users, worried parents, families and the community,
said the Minister.

Meanwhile, cannabis is more popular with Irish teenagers than in most
other European countries: 40pc of all Irish, Welsh and English
15-to-16-year-olds have taken the drug, at some stage.

In contrast, just 5pc of Portuguese teenagers have tried cannabis,
according to the annual report from the European Monitoring Centre for
Drugs and Drug addiction.

The figures indicate that Irish teenagers start taking drugs at a much
earlier age than in other European countries, according to Lucas
Wiessing, research co-ordinator at the Lisbon-based
organisation.

Heroin abuse also appears to be increasing in Ireland, he warns. ``We
noticed that the age of those seeking treatment for heroin in Ireland
is 24, far younger than in most countries. This suggests that the age
they start using the drug is much younger, too.''

``Unfortunately, we got the figures for Irish teenagers from a school
survey, so we don't have full statistics for Irish adults,'' he explained.

Across the EU, the report reveals that more than 40m people have tried
cannabis and that between 3m and 5m have taken heroin.