This article is from page 15 of the 2008-04-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
PEOPLE with drug addictions, includ- ing crack cocaine, last year accounted for 63 per cent of those attending Bushy Park ‘Treatment Centre.
Those with cocaine and heroin problems are also on the rise, with 23 cocaine addicts and 19 heroin ad- dicts receiving treatment at the cen- tre last year. And the centre provided residential treatment to 27 addicts who saw cannabis as their main drug of choice.
The largest group attending the centre are those with alcohol and drug addictions, who number 54. The number of people whose only addiction was alcohol numbered 49, while those with only an illicit drug addiction was 14.
Statistics provided by the centre show that 18 people were addicted to alcohol, illegal drugs and prescrip- tion drugs.
The centre was opened in 1991 and its director, Margaret Nash, said yes- terday that it was four years before an illicit drug addict attended the centre. She said, “Now, those pre- senting with poly-drug addictions are becoming more and more com- aXe OF
‘Alcohol is the main drug of choice in Ireland by a long way. It is the gateway drug and there is a Govern-
ment recognition that this is the case and there is a realisation that this is the case.”
Now, residents whose sole addic- tion is alcohol account for less than one-third of attendants at the centre near Ennis.
In relation to heroin addicts, Ms Nash said that they tend to smoke the drug and not inject it.
Ms Nash said that there is only one treatment centre in the country that deals with the detox of heroin addicts and the next date for assessment for people waiting for that service is in August.
‘When people present with figures to say that there are so many heroin or cannabis users, that is not really factual because people will use any- thing that they can get their hands on at the time,” she said.
Ms Nash said that there is a big gap in detox facilities for drug users in Wd eLompa en KOGAN (orci
“You are left with only home detox where a GP gives medication and you administer it yourself. It 1s quite tricky and very scary for families to see them go through detox,” she Said.
Heroin addicts seeking detox in a residential setting have to go through psychiatric services and _ declare themselves suicidal to gain admis- sion.