Senior medical professionals have called for the creation of a national initiative to address the sharp increase in the use of stimulants like cocaine and crack, reports RTE.
According to Dennis O’Dioscail of the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), the majority of drug treatment programs emphasise treating opioid addiction, even though there has been a noticeable increase in the usage of these medications.
Speaking before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drug Use, he revealed that Ireland had the highest rate of drug-related mortality in the EU, with nearly four times the average for the member states, reports RTE.
According to Bernard Kenny, the director of the Irish College of General Practitioners’ (ICGP) Addiction Management in Primary Care Program, Ireland has “the highest rate among EU member states, at 97 deaths per million of population compared with the EU.”
The committee was informed that Northern Ireland had an even higher incidence.
According to Dr. Kenny, 13,000 individuals received treatment for drug misuse in the State last year, which is a record high, reports RTE.
Mark Ward, a TD for Sinn Féin, brought up the issue of “the postcode lottery of care,” which states that some people who require therapy do not receive it.
Expert witness after expert witness argued in favour of decriminalising drug users but not the substances themselves.
According to Dr. Kenny, criminalising drug users and creating insecure housing and homelessness serve to further isolate individuals who are battling addiction.
On the other hand, Mr. O’Dioscail stated that someone who has overcome addiction and is attempting to assume a proactive and positive position in society has significant obstacles if they have a criminal record, reports RTE.
IPU President Tom Murray issued a warning, stating that “criminalisation is a barrier to access to healthcare.”
“We would not be in favour of decriminalising any product,” he underlined, nevertheless.
A number of the witnesses described the harm that drugs inflict, whose usage they could not support.
According to ICGP physician Dr. Des Crowley, drug users “are coming with an illness and they deserve compassion”.
It “is really, really important when we talk about relapse,” he continued, to exhibit this nonjudgmental approach.
This is because it can be challenging to re-engage with health services, which can avoid tragic overdose; this is partly because relapsing is stigmatised.
“There is a close causal relation between addiction, social deprivation and childhood trauma,” he said, reports RTE.
“GPs see drug users as patients and members of our communities rather than criminals,” Dr Kenny said, reports RTE.
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