The NACDA was established in response to the drug problem to assist in our continued need to improve our knowledge and understanding of problem drug use.
The goal of the NACDA is to advise the Government on problem drug use in Ireland in relation to prevalence, prevention consequences and treatment based on our analysis and interpretation of research findings.
The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) today, 19th June 2012, presents the second bulletin from a series of seven arising from the data collected in the third drug prevalence survey Drug Use in Ireland and Northern Ireland 2010/11. This bulletin, (Drug Use in Ireland and Northern Ireland Drug Prevalence Survey 2010/11: Regional Drug Task Force (Ireland) and Health and Social Services Trust (Northern Ireland) Results) provides a breakdown of prevalence rates by region for use of illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol, sedatives, tranquillisers and anti-depressants.
The survey is a joint undertaking with the Public Health Information and Research Branch within the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) in Northern Ireland. Fieldwork was carried out between October 2010 and May 2011 and the final sample comprised 7,669 respondents (5,134 in Ireland and 2,535 in Northern Ireland).
Minister of State with responsibility for Primary Care and Drugs Strategy, Róisín Shortall said today “I welcome the finding in this Regional Report that the use of illegal drugs has stabilised in many regions since the last NACD survey in 2006 and in particular the decline in many regions along the east coast of the country. However there is no room for complacency and we must continue to rigorously tackle problem drug use across Ireland.”
Findings of the bulletin include: