County drug use increases dramatically

Plans for a new drugs prevention and advisory service centre for Meath and surrounding counties should be ready by the end of the summer. That"s according to founder and director of the Aisling service, Marie Byrne, amid reports that the number of heroin addicts has dramatically increased in the past 10 years. A newspaper report this week stated that there was a near doubling in the past 10 years in the number of addicts undergoing methadone treatment - from 5,498 in 1998 to just under 10,000 at present. However, Ms Byrne said that it was her information that this was 'only the tip of the iceberg'. She said that a report in the Irish Times had pointed out the number of addicts reporting to treatment centres, but added, 'there are many thousands more people who have unfortunately never gone to a centre or looked for treatment'. 'Dublin city alone has 9,500 people on methadone treatment,' she said. 'There are so many other people out there who are either smoking or injecting heroin.' She said that there was no area in Meath, urban or rural, which was unaffected by drug abuse. 'It used be prevalent in the towns only but now we are getting people from rural townlands. They nearly all start smoking cannabis and then one person in a group will introduce heroin and the rest will end up smoking it.' One of the major problems facing counselling and advisory groups is the 'bumper' heroin crop produced in Afghanistan last year. 'There is no doubt that heroin will become more available and Meath and any other county won"t be able to avoid that.' For many drug users, there is no slow graduation from 'soft' to 'hard' drugs. They can often go from smoking to cannabis, straight to smoking heroin, Ms Byrne said. She said that while there had been no real research into the subject, this region was rated as having the second highest illegal drug abuse in the country after Dublin. She hit out at suggestions that Ireland should legalise drug use. 'I"m reluctant to bring religion into it but there is one priest out there at the moment who is pushing this line that we should allow people to have drugs if they want to. 'Then we would have a free for all. I do object to the fact that a priest can be actively campaigning for the legislation of drugs when he Vatican itself does not support that line. In fact, we phoned the Vatican and we were clearly told that it does not support legalisation.' The Aisling group has been pressing for earlier intervention in drug abuse, such as the system in Sweden. Ms Byrne said that if the police in Sweden find a teenager smoking illegal drugs on the street, the youngster can be taken into custody and his parents contacted. 'The teenager doesn"t get a criminal conviction but there is a clear message to everyone - teenager, parents or guardians - that the activity has to stop. The matter is dealt with and not allowed to progress. It is nipped in the bud,' she said. The Aisling Group International is to hold a fundraising 'Family Evening at the Dogs" at Mullingar Greyhound Stadium on Sunday, 20th July. And the group will hold another fundraiser featuring Michael McGoona and the Bug Band Revival at the Solstice Centre on 30th August. The Aisling Group can be contacted on www.aislinggroupinternational.ie Meanwhile, Gardai yesterday (Tuesday) seized €4 million worth of heroin from a car on the M50 in Dublin. At the time of going to press, one man in his early 20s was being detained at Blanchardstown Garda Station.