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Monday 25 September 2023 Dublin: 14°C

# Drug Addiction

This year
2023
# cocaine addiction
Cocaine overtakes opiates to become Ireland's 'most common' problem drug
Cocaine was reported over 4,000 times as the most common problem drug in treatment cases in 2022.
15.8k
80
Jun 20th 2023, 6:00 AM
Last year
2022
# lack of support
Large numbers of people with drug addictions were 'left to kill themselves slowly' during lockdowns
Substance abuse support groups were closed for five months in 2020 – with catastrophic impacts for the people who attend them.
Substance abuse support groups were classed as non-essential services for five months from March 2020, leaving people without a lifeline.
A survey of 157 drug and alcohol support services found that 84% of the support groups saw an increase in drug use among their clients.
“The ball was dropped by the government and people were left to kill themselves slowly for the first year of the pandemic," said one support worker.
'No plans' to reinstate HSE rehab unit closed during pandemic
Over 3,500 on wait list for a detox bed, with over 140 residential beds still closed
37.1k
61
Jan 5th 2022, 12:05 AM
All time
Voices
Opinion: Most young people involved in street-level dealing are among our most vulnerable citizens
Youth worker Eoin Lynagh is part of a group calling for an end to prohibition.
25.1k
52
Jul 11th 2021, 7:00 AM
Voices
Opinion: It's time to get real about heroin addiction. It's time to decriminalise this drug
Dr Austin O’Carroll says decriminalisation would be a way of taking responsibility for the vicious effects of inequality.
29.0k
41
Feb 19th 2020, 7:00 AM
Voices
Lynn Ruane: Drug courts are not the solution to Ireland's drug problem
We cannot have a National Drug Strategy that prefers the drug court to a health-focused approach.
15.2k
43
Dec 15th 2019, 8:30 PM
# Drug Addiction
Harris says there are no plans to legalise cannabis in Ireland
The health minister plans to have the medicinal cannabis access scheme up and running in the summer.
20.4k
83
May 22nd 2019, 6:50 PM
# left behind
PODCAST: 'I lost two sons to suicide - I want people to know it's okay to have problems'
Karen Docherty is calling for stronger support systems to be put in place for families affected by suicide.
51.6k
25
Jan 4th 2019, 12:05 AM
# Drug Addiction
76 hospital discharges of newborns with drug withdrawal symptoms last year
The figure of 76 represents a drop in the comparable figure for 2016, when there were a total of 92 discharges.
17.9k
24
Jul 23rd 2018, 12:05 AM
# decriminalisation
Should Ireland get rid of criminal penalties for drug possession? It has been successful elsewhere
A town hall meeting will be held this week in Dublin on the subject of looking into a health-led approach towards drug use in Ireland.
18.2k
101
Jun 10th 2018, 10:45 AM
# Addiction
'You junkie, you addict' - How stigma can prevent drug users getting the help they need
Depression is often the root cause of drug addiction and abuse does not help.
15.6k
46
Feb 27th 2018, 12:18 PM
# Drug Addiction
Dublin footballer Philly McMahon spoke about his brother's death on the Late Late and it was powerful television
“It’s OK to come out and say that I’m not embarrassed.”
4.4k
2
Oct 14th 2017, 9:44 AM
# Drug Addiction
'An opponent taunted me about his overdose' - Dublin footballer Philly McMahon on his brother's death
“It’s OK to come out and say that I’m not embarrassed.”
40.7k
57
Oct 14th 2017, 9:10 AM
# Addiction
Scientists are using painkiller-addicted fish to develop new treatments for addicts
Researchers found the fish were willing to work harder and even enter risky conditions in order to get their fix.
7.6k
5
Aug 27th 2017, 8:45 AM
# Addiction
Social work action 'unacceptably slow' in case of heroin user whose newborn died
The baby boy’s death was not reported to be connected to his mother’s drug use, but a report has criticised the seven-week delay in making contact with the woman.
22.4k
35
Aug 13th 2017, 9:00 PM
# Children's Court
Teen accused of causing €50k damage at Oberstown young offenders centre
The 17-year-old boy is accused of assaulting a staff member and causing €54,000 worth of criminal damage.
12.2k
0
Aug 9th 2017, 10:19 PM
# Drug Addiction
92 hospital discharges of newborns with drug withdrawal symptoms last year
Babies with drug withdrawal symptoms undergo six to eight week of rehabilitation.
22.3k
73
Jul 12th 2017, 12:05 AM
# Justice For Dara
'Sleep well, starling': Family and friends gather to remember activist Dara Quigley
At a vigil in Dublin this evening, her brother Sean called for a change in how the State treats addicts.
33.4k
44
May 12th 2017, 7:51 PM
# Drug Addiction
There's been a surge in the number of US babies born with heroin withdrawal symptoms
The problem is particularly bad in rural areas.
9.6k
22
Dec 17th 2016, 6:00 PM
# humans of dublin
'When there is somewhere safe for people to go and inject they will use it - I will use it'
Ireland’s first supervised injection centre could be up and running by the end of 2017.
15.3k
44
Nov 22nd 2016, 6:10 AM
# factcheck
FactCheck: Are there fewer gardaí dealing with a growing drugs problem?
Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe recently made some alarming claims on this issue. FactCheck puts them under scrutiny.
18.0k
44
Aug 24th 2016, 8:05 PM
# Coolmine therapeutic Community
People coming out of drug treatment programmes are relapsing because of the lack of housing
The chairman of a drug treatment programme said that the government needed to give more urgency to the housing crisis.
11.8k
38
Jun 9th 2016, 8:35 AM
# Drug Addiction
"I had a 14-day detox that sent me into horrible withdrawals... but I still went back to heroin"
Paul started snorting heroin aged 18. What followed was over 20 years of serious drug abuse before he finally decided to get clean.
32.1k
48
Jan 30th 2016, 8:30 PM
# scott county indiana
The shocking story of the rise of HIV in one rural American community
From 2009-2013, Scott County, Indiana had three HIV infections. There have been 142 since January.
37.2k
15
Apr 24th 2015, 8:21 PM
# Heroin
'I lost the rag to make Joan Burton wake up'
Jonathan O’Brien’s brother is battling drug addiction.
24.9k
41
Apr 15th 2015, 10:03 PM
# Hope
'The morning my father was buried in Dublin, I was doing drugs down an alley in London'
John turned his life around after drug addiction.
17.6k
16
Jan 6th 2015, 12:47 PM
# Addiction
Mother of drug addict explains how support group 'made me feel like I wasn't the only one heartbroken'
Anne’s son has been battling addiction for 27 years.
17.0k
10
Nov 2nd 2014, 8:30 AM
# Addiction
Dublin's drug situation hasn't gotten worse, it's just 'shifted to other areas'
The Director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, Tony Duffin said a recent surge in hallucinogenic stimulants has also made addicts’ behaviour somewhat more challenging lately.
24.3k
101
Oct 3rd 2014, 11:48 AM
Voices
Opinion: The sudden death of a young woman is not any less tragic for her being an addict
Compassion for a fellow human being should not change just because a poor soul happened to be an addict.
828
91
Jul 24th 2014, 1:00 PM
# Addiction
Researchers discover how the brain 'learns' cocaine addiction
Researchers said that knowing this detail may help identify new treatments for addicts.
7.7k
24
Aug 2nd 2013, 6:30 AM
Voices
Column: Meth is not glamorous – and nobody is immune to the tragedies it brings
I dabbled with drugs on a social basis and thought I was in control; but that was before trying crystal meth. The drug stripped away everything I believed about myself as a person, exposing me to dangers and tragedies I would never have imagined.
996
74
Jul 2nd 2013, 7:30 PM
# Pakistan
Toxic cough syrup kills 24 people in Pakistan
The deaths have all come in the last four days, with most of the fatalities thought to be drug addicts seeking a fix.
9.4k
6
Dec 29th 2012, 6:46 PM
# need to know
The Evening Fix…now with added tomato sauce
The things we learned, loved and shared today.
7.3k
3
Oct 2nd 2012, 8:00 PM
# Drug Addiction
Drug addiction treatment centre facing closure
Coolmine Therapeutic Centre says it urgently needs €100,000 from the State in order to keep its mother and child facilities for drug addicts open.
6.5k
20
Oct 2nd 2012, 9:43 AM
Voices
Column: Amy Winehouse was an addict – and I know how that feels
The singer’s meltdowns were very public, but few people understand the reality of addiction, writes recovered drug user Brendan Magee.
565
27
Jul 29th 2011, 7:29 AM