Scourge of multi-drug addiction highlighted

Addiction to multiple drugs is becoming such a problem that gardaí, medics, and treatment specialists almost hanker for the days when middle-aged alcoholics were their biggest problem and pubs were the epicentre of socialising.

Speakers from across the board at a conference called The Trends and Future Challenges of Addiction, agreed that being an alcoholic alone is very much the exception for addicts seeking treatment and that the majority also use street drugs and/or painkillers and benzo-diazepines.

Consultant in emergency medicine, Dr Chris Luke, described multiple addiction as “the greatest existential threat to the State since the civil war”. Dr Luke, who is based at Cork’s Mercy University Hospital, said he was “frequently in despair” at the condition of multi- drug users who presented for treatment at A&E.