HEROIN TOP DRUG FOR ADDICTS SEEKING TREATMENT

Heroin was the drug most commonly used by addicts who sought treatment last
year, a report shows.

Cannabis was the next most popular followed by ecstasy.

And the Health Research Board discovered 223 school goers also sought help.

However, contrary to popular belief that ecstasy is the drug of the young,
the returns from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System for the HRB
show that in well over half the cases reported, cannabis (62pc) was the
most widely used substance compared to 17pc for heroin and 10pc for ecstasy.

The returns also show a total of 3,373 people were treated for heroin
misuse, with most of them having contacted the treatment services previously.

In only 39pc of cases was it the first time they had sought help.

Of the total heroin users, 54pc decided to seek treatment themselves, 14pc
were referred by a drug treatment centre and 10pc by the courts, probation
service or gardai.

In contrast to heroin, 73pc of the 584 reported cases treated for cannabis
did so for the first time, while a similarly large percentage (76pc) of the
256 cases of ecstasy misuse also made their first contact with help agencies.

In the case of all three drugs, the vast majority of misusers were male
heroin 69pc; cannabis 86pc and ecstasy 77pc.

Almost all those who sought treatment (99pc) were Irish.