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John Curran, the minister in charge of the National Drug Strategy admits that the approach has failed in its objective so far.
THE minister in charge of the drugs strategy has “serious concerns” about this year’s cocaine awareness campaign, which cost in the region of €500,000.
John Curran conceded he has serious concerns that the state didn’t get out the right message on cocaine to young people.
“Certainly, I don’t feel the campaign really delivered a strong enough message,” said Mr Curran. “I’m not sure running a single drug campaign is the way to go, I’ve serious concerns about it.”
The minister of state said the next drugs strategy, due at the end of the year, will place renewed emphasis on prevention and awareness.
He told the Irish Examiner there were concerns that the school prevention programmes were “not having the impact” they should have.
The emphasis on prevention follows mounting signs of a worsening drugs problem, reflected in significant increases in drug use and massive hikes in drug seizures.
Mr Curran said the National Drugs Awareness Campaign, which was launched last February and which focused on cocaine, didn’t seem to work.
He said he thought it possible the concentration on cocaine in the campaign was “driven by perception” and the media profile the drug had at that time.
The campaign, called The Party’s Over and run by the HSE, highlighted the personal and financial cost to users.
It used outdoor advertising, washroom, digital and radio advertising as well as an infoline and a text information service. It had a budget of €500,000, which was seen by many as inadequate.
“I’m not an advertising expert, but if a campaign is to be successful it has to be planned out.
“Instead of being a one-off, it needs a continuing momentum behind it,” said Mr Curran. He indicated there would be more emphasis on awareness and education in the next strategy.
The Dublin Mid-West TD said the school education programmes — delivered as part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme — were not having the necessary impact.
There has been a 700% rise in the number of cocaine users seeking treatment for the first time, official figures have shown.
They also show the number of new heroin cases outside Dublin has doubled between 2001 and 2006. Publishing the data, the Health Research Board, also pointed to a sharp rise in the number of people treated for multiple drug use (polydrug use), with alcohol the most common additional drug taken. In a report on treated problem drug use, the board said the number of new cases rose by 10%, from 2,030 in 2001 to 2,228 in 2006.
This included:
* A significant jump (695%) in new cocaine cases, from 43 to 342.
* A levelling-off in new opiate (mainly heroin) cases, from 901 to 912.
* A slight rise (4%) in cannabis cases, from 781 to 809.
* A sharp drop (70%) in new ecstasy cases, from 197 to 65.
Dr Jean Long, head of the board’s alcohol and drug research unit, said the relatively small increase in new cases nationally masked “stark trends” in many HSE areas.
The report said heroin remained the main problem drug reported by new cases in Dublin, in spite of a 31% drop in such cases.
“This indicates that the heroin epidemic has abated in this area,” said Dr Long. She said this contrasted with the situation outside Dublin. “There was a 96% increase in the number of new opiate cases entering treatment outside Dublin, from 226 in 2001 to 442 in 2006.”
She said the rise in foreigners seeking treatment pointed to the need for multilingual skills at treatment centres.
MORE than 12,700 people are being treated for problem drug use, with about 8,600 of these getting the opiate substitute drug methadone, Pat Carey, Minister of State with special responsibility for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs, said yesterday.
Mr Carey warned that illicit drugs use was now happening across all social strata and appeared to be spreading geographically across the country.
“Alcohol, as a potential gateway to illicit drugs, is also a real issue,” he said. The minister was launching the first in a series of 15 public consultation meetings on a new National Drugs Strategy 2009-16. “The issue of drug use is complex and difficult,” he said. “It is a global issue and no country has succeeded in tackling all aspects of the problem.
“Our efforts to tackle it in Ireland must, therefore, be seen in that context. The current strategy represents our first attempt to develop a fully coordinated response to the problem. It grew out of the threat posed to individuals, families and communities by heroin, in particular, at that time.”
Mr Carey said while they still had “much to do”, he believed they had many achievements under the existing strategy, including the hugely increased level of drug seizures by the gardaí and customs service.
Prevention measures included programmes in the schools and the successful Young People Facilities and Services Fund now being extended to Arklow, Wexford, Athlone and Dundalk.
Mr Carey said research in areas such as drugs prevalence, cocaine, treatment outcomes and the effect of drugs on families would help to map out the future approach.
In addition to hearing the views of the public at the consultation meetings, the minister said they would also be holding an extensive series of meetings with government departments and agencies and with community and voluntary interests.
“But the public consultation phase allows members of the public — who are not directly represented by any of these groups — to air their views and to put forward proposals on how best to tackle drug misuse and associated issues.”
“The new strategy will run for eight years, and though there will be opportunities for review during that period, it is important that we try to get it right from the outset so that we can tackle this major social issue facing our society.”
Mr Carey said he had established a steering group to develop proposals on a new drugs strategy.
Anonymous Bebo User
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2 weeks ago
Anonymous Bebo User
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Term Time
6 weeks ago
Anonymous Bebo User
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