We're top of Europe drug crisis league

by Katherine Butler (Brussels)

IRELAND is facing one of the most serious drugs crises in the EU, according
to a report, which warns that the extent of drug use among teenagers is
unrivalled on the Continent. Nearly 40% of Irish 15 to 16yearolds admit
to having used cannabis, a level which is unrivalled anywhere in Europe.

Only British and Spanish youngsters come near for the same age groups,
according to the results of anonymous school survey. In Holland, where the
government does not prosecute soft drug use and where cannabis can be
bought openly, only 14% of schoolchildren experimented with drugs.

The report of the EU's Lisbonbased drugs monitoring agency also found that:

* Ireland was one of only a handful of European countries where drug abuse
among schoolgoers was on the increase;

* the number of addicts under25 undergoing treatment was more than double
the EU average;

* the number of drugrelated deaths had increased sixfold in Ireland over
the last decade. In 1986 there were just eight deaths in Ireland directly
attributed to poisoning from drug abuse. But by 1995 this had risen to 49.

Over the same period, seizures of all drugs in Ireland increased
significantly. Cannabis seizures increased sharply in 1995 to almost 16,000
kg from a level of only 43 kg 10 years previously.

Ireland also has the youngest group of drug addicts seeking treatment,
according to the report. Two in three of those being treated for addiction
are under 25 in Ireland compared to an EU average of around 29%. By
contrast only 7% of those entering treatment in Ireland are over 25.

The report confirms the prevalence of heroin among young adult users in
Ireland. For threequarters of those seeking treatment, heroin is the main
drug. Around 10% seek treatment for dependence on stimulants and sedatives
such as tranquillisers.

Injecting drug use in Ireland is particularly high and almost half of all
AIDS cases in this country are related to injecting drugs, the report says.
This proportion is exceeded only by Spain and Italy. In contrast, just 6%
of British AIDS cases are related to druginjecting. Ireland is cited as
one of a handful of EU member states where drug abuse among schoolgoers is
showing a definite increase.

The authors note that surveys focus on cannabis as the most widely
available drug but warn that the trend is for a worrying increase in so
called "dance drugs" like ecstasy.

The stereotypical image of drug users as dropouts is no longer relevant,
Georges Esteivenart director of the Lisbon institute said.

Increasingly, amphetamines and synthetic drugs are being used by the
children of the middle classes because they are associated with the rave,
techno culture.

In Britain, for example, 4% of young adults have tried ecstasy and 11%
admit they have used amphetamines 4% of those in the last year.

Comparative figures on synthetic drugs for Ireland were not available but
the report notes the particular prevalence of these drugs in northern parts
of the EU.