Drugs minister: Investing in treatment pays

IN ADVANCE of feared budgetary cutbacks, the minister with responsibility for the national drugs strategy has said Government investment in drug treatment has been paying dividends.

Not only does drug treatment help people to kick addiction, it also reduced the crime rate and helps people to re-enter the community in a healthy and meaningful way, new groundbreaking research shows.

Yesterday, the chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) Dr Des Corrigan said a study by researchers at NUI Maynooth demonstrates that the retention rate in drug treatment in Ireland is very high, which contributes to saving lives. The mortality rate in the study is low when compared with similar studies in Britain.