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Welcome
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Drug-related deaths 2004–2016
by Ena Lynn
The latest figures from the National Drug-Related Deaths Index (NDRDI) show that a total of 736
deaths in Ireland during 2016 were linked to drug use.1,2 The NDRDI reports on poisoning deaths
(also known as overdose), which are due to the toxic effect of a drug or combination of drugs, and
on non-poisonings, which are deaths as a result of trauma, such as hanging, or medical reasons, such
as cardiac events, among people who use drugs.

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In brief
While research and health-related issues have been given some attention in the public debate around
Brexit, they have struggled to gain attention in the heated discussion around trade, free movement,
and judicial oversight. A recent paper1 by a group of public health academics has attempted to
highlight the damaging effect that the severing of links with agencies such as the European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol will have on the UK’s capacity
to deal with the consequences of illicit drug use. They point out that continued access to
EU-generated information and intelligence is not guaranteed in a post-Brexit situation.

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Policy
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Ministerial segment of 62nd session of Commission on Narcotic Drugs
by Lucy Dillon
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the governing body of the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC). Essentially, it is the central drug policymaking body of the United Nations (UN).
It aims to provide member states and civil society with the opportunity to exchange expertise,
experiences, and information on drug-related matters and to develop a coordinated response to the
drug situation. Membership is made up of representatives from 53 UN member states, allowing for a
spread of geographical representation. Ireland is not currently a member.



In March 2019, representatives from UN member states and civil society met in Vienna for the 62nd
session of the CND. As well as plenary sessions, there were approximately 100 side events held.1
However, a much-anticipated two-day ministerial segment took place at the start of the session; it
is this element of the session that is the focus of this article.

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International guidelines on human rights and drug policy
by Lucy Dillon
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS); the World Health Organization; and the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug
Policy have collaborated with international experts to produce International guidelines on human
rights and drug policy.1 The outputs of this collaboration were launched to coincide with the 62nd
session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in March 2019 – they include a written set of
guidelines and an online resource.2

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UNAIDS report on health, rights and drugs
by Lucy Dillon
A Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) report, Health, rights and drugs: harm
reduction, decriminalization and zero discrimination for people who use drugs, was published in
March 2019.1 It recommends implementing evidence-informed approaches to drug policy that are
grounded in human rights and which would reduce the spread of HIV and other diseases through
injecting drug use. These include harm reduction services and the decriminalisation of the
possession of drugs for personal use. The report was published in advance of the ministerial segment
of the 62nd Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) session and its authors advocated that its
recommendations be used to inform that process.2

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European drug trends, 2019
by Brian Galvin
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published the European drug
report 2019: trends and developments1 on 6 June 2019. This report provides a snapshot of the latest
drug trends across the 28 European Union (EU) member states, Norway and Turkey. The Health Research
Board (HRB) provides the Irish data.

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Alcohol industry involvement in policymaking: a systematic review
by Claire O'Dwyer
Research indicates that the most effective alcohol policies are those that regulate the actions of
the alcohol industry, including reducing the affordability of alcohol and decreasing its
availability.1 However, national alcohol policies have tended to favour policies that allow the
alcohol industry scope for self-regulation and promote non-regulatory measures. This may reflect the
influence of the alcohol industry in defining the scope and content of alcohol policy debate. A
recent systematic review2 published in the journal Addiction investigated the role of the alcohol
industry in policymaking and the ways in which the industry attempts to influence this process.

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Prevalence
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Community experiences of serious organised crime in Scotland
by Ciara H Guiney
In June 2018, a report that examined community experiences of serious organised crime (SOC) in
Scotland was published by the Scottish Government.1 The study aimed to examine three areas:

Relationships that existed between SOC and communities in Scotland
Experiences and perceptions of the scope and nature of SOC among residents, stakeholders, and
organisations
Impact of SOC on community wellbeing, and whether harms linked to SOC can be alleviated.
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The drug economy and youth interventions
by Lucy Dillon
The launch of The drug economy and youth interventions: an exploratory research project on working
with young people involved in the illegal drugs trade was held on 30 April 2019.1 The study was
carried out by Dr Matt Bowden of the Technological University Dublin and is published by CityWide
Drugs Crisis Campaign. As well as a presentation on the report’s key findings, the launch included:

The findings of research into the views and experiences of drug dealers by Dr Fiona O’Reilly
The experiences of those delivering interventions with young people affected by the ‘drug economy’:
Angela Birch of the Ballymun Regional Youth Resource discussing the Easy Street project
Karl Ducque and Gary Lawlor of the Targeted Response to Youth (TRY) intervention
A closing statement by John Lonergan, former governor of Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
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Alcohol treatment figures from the NDTRS, 2011–2017
by Derek O'Neill
The National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) is a national surveillance database on
treatment for problem drug and alcohol use in Ireland. In March 2019, the NDTRS published its latest
alcohol treatment figures, which cover the seven-year period 2011–2017. Over this period, 55,675
cases were treated for alcohol as a main problem.1

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Experience of the treatment demand indicator in Europe
by Helen Kennelly
The treatment demand indicator (TDI) is an epidemiological indicator, used in the European Union
(EU), with the aim of providing a common format on collection and reporting of data on people
seeking treatment for problem drug use. A recent study reviewed the implementation of the TDI and
the data analysis and trends it has provided.1

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Experiences of people engaged in long-term methadone maintenance treatment
by Anne Marie Carew
On 10 December 2018, the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Drug and Alcohol Task Force (DLRDATF) launched their
report, ‘Just maintaining the status quo’? The experiences of long-term participants in methadone
maintenance treatment.1 The report documents the findings of a qualitative study examining the
experiences of people engaged in long-term methadone maintenance treatment in the Dún Laoghaire
Rathdown area of South Dublin.

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Client perspectives on barriers to progressing through methadone maintenance treatment in Ireland
by Sean Millar
Opiate use disorder (OUD) is a problem worldwide.1 European statistics show that there are
approximately 1.3 million high-risk opioid users in the EU, where opioids are found in 82% of fatal
overdoses.2 The most recent Irish data from 2014 estimated that there were 18,988 opiate users in
the Republic of Ireland, giving a rate of 6.18 per thousand population aged 15–64 years (95% CI:
6.09–6.98).3

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Profiles of Irish psychiatric inpatients with no fixed abode
by Sean Millar
Recent research has shown that the number of emergency hospitalisations among those experiencing
homelessness in Ireland has increased significantly in the last 10 years.1 The profile of those
using emergency department services suggests that they are, in the main, chronically or episodically
homeless and thus represent a relatively small proportion of the overall homeless population.
Nevertheless, these subjects are heavy users of various costly services. Furthermore, a number of
Irish studies have suggested that homeless people exhibit relatively high levels of mental health
difficulties and may be over-represented in psychiatric settings.1,2

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Public awareness of alcohol-related health conditions in Ireland: findings from the Healthy Ireland
Survey
by Claire O'Dwyer and Deirdre Mongan
Alcohol is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. A causal relationship has
been established between alcohol and over 60 health conditions, such as female breast cancer, bowel
cancer, and high blood pressure.1 Despite the growing evidence on the contribution of alcohol to the
global burden of disease and mortality, research in other countries demonstrates poor public
knowledge of the association between alcohol and a range of alcohol-related health conditions,
including cancer.2,3 The aim of this research was to establish public knowledge of six
alcohol-related health conditions in Ireland, namely liver disease, pancreatitis, stomach ulcers,
high blood pressure, female breast cancer, and bowel cancer.

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Responses
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A systems perspective on drug prevention
by Lucy Dillon
In March 2019, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) published Drug
prevention: exploring a systems perspective, as part of its Technical Report series.1 Drawing on
systems theory, the report considers substance use prevention in Europe through the lens of a
system. A system is described as being made up of ‘a set of elements organised for a common purpose
that are connected and interact with each other to form an integrated whole’ (p. 6). By taking this
approach, the report highlights the wide range of factors that need to be considered when
implementing substance use prevention programmes and policies.

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Second National Intracultural Health Strategy, 2018–2023
by Suzi Lyons
The Second National Intracultural Health Strategy (NIHS) 2018–2023 has been published by the Health
Service Executive (HSE).1 It will enable the HSE to better address the needs of service users of all
ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The strategy is in response to the increasing diversity of people
living and accessing health services in Ireland. Census 2016 showed that 17% of the population were
not born in Ireland, representing 500,000+ individuals from 200 different countries (p. 13).1

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Policing with local communities
by Ciara H Guiney
In December 2018, the Minister for Justice and Equality published the Garda Inspectorate’s Policing
with local communities report.1 The Policing Authority (PA) was tasked with overseeing this review
and worked alongside the Garda Síochána Inspectorate (GSINSP), who are responsible for ensuring that
the resources available to An Garda Síochána (AGS) ‘are used so as to achieve and maintain the
highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration, as measured by
reference to the best standards of comparable police services’ (s. 117).2 The terms of reference
agreed by PA and GSINSP examined:

The changing environments in rural, developing urban and suburban areas
Views of local communities
Allocations of Garda resources and their deployment at the local policing level, including the use
of the Garda Reserve, Garda facilities and Garda equipment, and
Relevant recommendations made in previous Inspectorate reports (p. 2).
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End-of-life care for people with alcohol and drug problems
by Helen Kennelly
This rapid evidence assessment set out to determine the availability and quality of international
research evidence on the subject of end-of-life care for people with alcohol and drug problems.1
There have been significant changes in the population of people with substance use problems. These
include an increase in the number of older drug users and deaths in this population that are
non-drug related and an increase in alcohol-related morbidity and mortality in older users.

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Opioid dependence: buprenorphine prolonged-release injection (Buvidal)
by Helen Kennelly
An evidence summary was commissioned by Public Health England to examine the therapeutic potential
of buprenorphine prolonged-release injection as an alternative opioid dependence treatment to the
current treatment of daily sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone.1 Buprenorphine prolonged-release
injection is an opioid agonist/antagonist and is administered as a weekly or monthly subcutaneous
injection. Buprenorphine injection may be an alternative treatment option for opioid addiction where
people have difficulties following a daily supervised opioid substitution and also where there is a
potential safety risk of storing medicines at home.

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Adolescent Addiction Service report, 2018
by Sean Millar
The Health Service Executive (HSE) Adolescent Addiction Service (AAS) provides support and treatment
in relation to alcohol and drug use for young people and families from the Dublin suburbs of
Ballyfermot, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Lucan, and Inchicore. Services provided include advice,
assessment, counselling, family therapy, professional consultations, and medications if required. In
2018, the AAS published a report detailing referrals for 2017.1

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New publications
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Recent publications
Recent research added to the HRB National Drugs Library website

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Upcoming events
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National Drugs Forum 2019


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HRB National Drugs Library
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HRB National Drugs Library – Find the evidence
www.drugsandalcohol.ie [
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