Ireland has EU’s highest level of drugs fatalities
A report by the UN’s drugs agency said Ireland was ranked sixth in the EU for heroin use and ninth across 43 European countries, including Russia and Ukraine.
“In terms of mortality rates, Ukraine, Iceland, Ireland and Luxembourg seem to experience some of the highest levels in Europe, with over 100 drug-related deaths per one million inhabitants aged 15-64,” said the report.
Ireland had 326 drug-related deaths, equivalent to 106 deaths per million people, compared with a mortality rate of 105 in Luxembourg, 169 in Iceland and 236 in Ukraine.
In comparison, Britain had a drug death rate of 56, Germany 27 and the liberally-minded Netherlands just 12 deaths per million.
As in most countries, the primary cause of death in Ireland was heroin and other opiates (such as methadone) and cocaine.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2011 said Ireland had the ninth highest annual prevalence for heroin consumption among 43 European states and the sixth highest with in the 27-member state EU.
Russia had the highest rate, followed by Scotland, Estonia, England and Wales, Latvia, Slovenia and then Ireland.
The report said Ireland was one of just two countries, which provided updated prevalence studies in 2010, to show an increase in annual heroin prevalence. It said most other countries reported stable opiate use.
The report said Ireland had one of the highest street prices for heroin in Europe (€145 per gramme), compared with an average of €50. The wholesale price of 1kg of heroin is €29,000, again at the upper end of the European league.
In terms of cocaine prevalence, Ireland is ranked fifth across Europe, albeit based on 2007 figures.
The report said cocaine use seemed to have stabilised across much of Europe, with a number of countries reporting falls in seizure.
“In Ireland, seizures peaked in 2007 and have also declined significantly since then,” said the report.
Figures show that Ireland is ranked in 13th position for annual prevalence of cannabis use in Europe.
Globally, the report said opium production fell by almost 40% last year due to an opium blight in Afghanistan.
But UNODC boss Yury Fedotov said “preliminary findings indicate that Afghan opium production will probably rebound to high levels in 2011”.
The report said global production of cocaine fell by about one-sixth. It said 157 tonnes of cocaine were consumed in the US in 2010, and 123 tonnes in Europe.
