‘One third of drug users share needles’

ONE in three drug users who injects substances has shared equipment, figures for Waterford and the south-east show.

The numbers coming forward for help for alcohol and drug misuse has also spiralled for the first time, accounting for 1,815 of the 2,549 people treated in centres in Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) South-Eastern Area’s annual Overview of Drug Misuse report (2004) makes harrowing reading.