IRELAND REGISTERS SIGNIFICANT DROP IN 'HARD' DRUG USERS

THE proportion of Irish people aged between 15-64 taking "hard" drugs
such as heroin, cocaine and LSD over their lifetime has fallen
significantly, according to a new report.

A European Union-wide study shows that Ireland and the UK, where such
use dropped from 16pc in 1995 to 9pc in 1999, were the only EU
countries to register a decrease in lifetime drug use.

But the injecting of heroin is increasing, and has led to a dramatic
rise in the number of intravenous drug users testing positive for
HIV. Up until 1996, the trend was for more heroin users to smoke the
drug but, the report notes, more recently injecting has been on the
increase.

The annual report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and
Drug Addiction reveals Ireland and Finland have the youngest clients
entering drugs treatment programmes.

In addition, Ireland registered one of the highest increases in
drug-related arrests over the last three years, up from 3,300 in 1996
to 6,900 in 1999.

Drug users in prison continue to pose a major problem throughout the
EU, with an estimated 180,000 to 600,000 users passing through the
prisons every year. The Lisbon-based agency says about 45 million
people in the EU have tried cannabis, and lifetime experience of
cannabis among adults ranges from around 10pc in Finland to 20-25pc
in Ireland, Denmark, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

Up to 4pc of EU adults have experimented with amphetamines and
ecstasy, but this figure is closer to 10pc in the UK.

Heroin use is less than 1pc, but it causes most drug-related problems
including crime, infectious diseases and overdoses.

The number of deaths each year from drug overdoses and poisonings in
the EU has stabilised at about 7,500, roughly half that of the US.