Drug abuse study - Grim reading that affects all of us
The survey was undertaken by this country’s largest and longest established addiction treatment clinic — the Dublin-based Drug Treatment Central Board. It set up a younger person’s drug treatment programme for people under 19 years of age.
A total of 86 young heroin addicts were surveyed between October 2000 and September 2006.
Their average age was almost 17. Some of the findings make grim reading, because the young people come largely from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the survey gives a wide range of examples. Most of those surveyed were from dysfunctional families.
One parent of 58% of those young people abused alcohol, and others had psychiatric problems.
Nearly half had a sibling with a heroin problem.
Most of those involved left school at 14. The average age at which they began abusing illegal drugs was at 12.4 years of age, and cannabis was the first drug for 83% of those young people.
On average they did not dabble with heroin until almost five months after quitting school.
A total of 57% never worked after leaving school, which highlights the need for outreach services to help these people.
Almost half of the young people had been homeless at some stage, and nearly a third have spent time in care. Nearly half also had criminal convictions, and 29% spent time in jail.
Another of the more frightening statistics was that a quarter of those surveyed tested positive for hepatitis C, a potentially fatal liver disease. This is probably related to the fact that about 30% were injecting heroin and the hepatitis C was probably passed by sharing infected needles.
Prompt intervention could prevent those young people from progressing from softer drug use to heroin experimentation and eventual dependency. The main opiates being abused were heroin and methadone. But 93% had also abused the tranquilliser benzodiazepine. In fact, 49% had abused it within the previous month.
The depth and complexity of these people’s problems were such that they frequently sought relief, not from their drug problems, but from the overall chaos and instability of their lives. The research indicates they think the heroin provides relief from their stress.
Most of those young people involved in the study have not had a proper chance in life through no fault of their own. There is no use in pretending these people are not everybody’s problem, because they are a real problem that society will have to confront sooner or later.
It should be recognised that determined preventative measures are not only in the interest of the vulnerable young people but also society in general.
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