IRELAND HAS one of the highest levels of drug-related deaths in Europe, according to a United Nations report on the global drug market.
It shows Ukraine, Iceland and Ireland had some of the highest mortality rates in Europe, with more than 100 drug-related deaths per one million inhabitants aged 15-64.
These figures are twice the European average, though the report cautions that many countries may be significantly underestimating the number of deaths.
The World Drug Report 2011 by the United Nations office on drugs and crime also shows that while the heroin problem is stabilising in most European countries, prevalence rates appear to be increasing slightly in Ireland and Sweden.
However, opiate use is still more prevalent in the UK and almost twice as prevalent in eastern European countries such as Latvia and Estonia.
Ireland also figured prominently on cocaine use. Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK had the highest rates of use.
Health Research Board senior researcher Dr Suzi Lyons said the figures on drug deaths accurately reflected the problem in Ireland.
However, she said one of the reasons the Irish rate was much higher than many other countries was because their monitoring systems were not as comprehensive.
Dr Lyons also urged caution in interpreting the figures for drug prevalence, noting some information related to data collected up to five years ago.
The figures also show dramatic differences in the price of drugs across the world depending on the distance it has travelled and how many times it has changed hands.
It is most expensive in Australia and the US, although there are major difference within Europe. In Ireland the typical cost of a gram of heroin in 2009 was €147, compared to €48 in the UK and €23 in Belgium.
The UN report highlights developments across the global drug market and explains the factors that drive consumption, production and trafficking of illicit drugs.
Globally, the report indicates 3-6 per cent of the world’s population used illicit substances at least once during the previous year.
Cannabis is by far the most widely used illegal drug consumed in Ireland and the rest of the world, followed by amphetamine-type stimulants like ecstasy and opiates such as heroin.
While there are stable or downward trends for heroin and cocaine use across the globe, the report says this is being offset by increases in the use of “legal highs” and prescription drugs
There was a significant reduction in global opium production in 2010, however, as a result of disease in opium poppy plants in Afghanistan.
Officials say there was also a significant decline in potential cocaine manufacture, reflecting falling cocaine production in Colombia.
This was offset by increases in Peru and Bolivia.
The production of amphetamine-type stimulants and cannabis is more difficult to estimate because they are produced in dozens of countries.
Most cannabis seizures in Europe originated primarily in Morocco, but some 29 European countries – including Ireland – reported domestic cultivation of cannabis herb during 2008.
The highest levels of non-medical use of prescription opioids – drugs with morphine-like effects – have been reported from Northern Ireland.
