Over 130 drug deaths in 12 years, states report

More than 130 people have died from "drug dependence" in the 12 years between 1985 and 1996, according to a new report by the Health Research Board.

The Overview of Drug Issues in Ireland 1997 says an estimate of drug deaths is limited because a drug connection is not always recorded. There are no figures on suicides linked to drug-taking.

The Central Statistics Office classifies deaths officially as those that are recorded by hospitals as having an "underlying cause of drug dependence".

In the same 12-year period, half of those who died from AIDS were intravenous drug users.

This proportion is falling, the report says, after it peaked in 1993 at 63 per cent. Last year just one of the seven people who died of AIDS was an intravenous drug user.

The 154 people who have died of drug-related AIDS since 1982 brings the total number of deaths recorded as drug deaths to 284.

The report reviews the law on drugs, syringe robberies and other related areas.

It compares the amount of drugs seized and uses Garda figures on the numbers charged with drug-related offences.

"Schools survey data indicate that there has been an increase in the consumption of drugs, in particular cannabis," the report says.

The age of drug abusers is falling. "In 1996, 81 per cent of those presenting for treatment for the fist time were less than 25 years old, compared to 69 per cent in 1990."

The report is available from the Drug Misuse Research Division, The Health Research Board, 73 Lower Baggot St, Dublin.