SPECIALIST DRUG TREATMENT DEMANDED

The death of a 15-year-old girl from a suspected drugs overdose in Dublin
has led to calls for the immediate setting up of specialist treatment
services for young people who experiment with drugs.

A source familiar with the dead girl's history expressed the view that she
was not a drug addict. However, those working on drug projects in the city
said young people experimenting with drugs were more likely to overdose
because of their inexperience.

Father Peter McVerry called last night for specialist treatment services
for young people who use drugs and for changes in the law to facilitate the
treatment of under-age persons without their parents' consent in certain
circumstances.

He said the law as it existed presented an obstacle to some very young
drug-abusers receiving treatment.

"Their parents are required to sign a consent form, but they might not be
interested in doing so or the child might not want his or her parents to
know about his or her problem," he said. He said responsible adults other
than a child's parents should be allowed to sign consent forms in these
situations.

Mr Tony Geoghegan of the Merchants Quay Project, the largest voluntary
drugs support project in Dublin, complained that most of the drug treatment
services were geared to the needs of more established drug-users, rather
than the very young who might be in the early stages of experimenting with
drugs and therefore more vulnerable to overdosing.

"There is a gap in services for that age group. We need earlier
intervention programmes and more outreach services which engage young
drug-users. We have had one or two pilot projects in this area, but in
general there is a deficit in the services," he said.

He described the death of the 15-year-old girl, who had been in the care of
the South Western Area Health Board, as tragic.

"A 15-year-old dying like that is dreadful, but I won't be surprised if it
does turn out to be an overdose. Young people are the most vulnerable to
overdose because they haven't got much experience of drugs," he said.

The Merchants Quay Project dealt with more than 2,000 drug abusers last
year, some as young as 15. They saw only the tip of the iceberg, Mr
Geoghegan said.

He said drug-related deaths were increasing every year in the State, even
before contaminated heroin claimed 16 lives earlier this year. There were
86 drug related deaths last year and 72 the year before.

Father McVerry said the problem of heroin abuse in particular was getting
worse, and the age at which people were beginning to use the drug was
getting lower. There were two deaths related to heroin overdoses every week
in the Dublin area, but most went unreported and were "taken for granted".

"What annoys me is there is a waiting time of three to four months to get
on to methadone treatment programmes, and I don't see any urgency in the
system in dealing with somebody who presents with a heroin problem," he said.

A spokeswoman for the health boards in the eastern region formerly covered
by the Eastern Health Board said over 1,000 new treatment places had been
established this year for those who abused drugs.

"We have a wide range of community-based drug education, prevention,
outreach, treatment and rehabilitation services for young people," she said.

"An independent evaluation of the drug treatment services in the east
carried out by an international expert concluded that our drug treatment
services had developed at a breathtaking rate and were among the most
innovative in Europe," she added.