2008 Submission from the Community Sector to the NDS Steering Group Citywide submission on the development of a new National Drugs Strategy

The structures of the National Drugs Strategy have now been in place for over ten years and during that time there has been a significant growth and expansion in drug services. Despite this progress, it is clear that the drugs crisis in our communities has become much more complex since 1996:

• While heroin use remains a core problem, most heroin users are poly drug users who use a range of drugs, both legal and illegal.
• The availability and use of cocaine has emerged as a key issue in the communities most affected by the heroin crisis.
• The impact of cocaine use has extended beyond disadvantaged communities and anecdotally is an issue at all levels of society.
• There has been a serious escalation in both the scale and extent of the drugs crisis outside of the Dublin region since the establishment of the RDTFs. This includes significant increases in heroin use in many areas outside of Dublin.
• The sale and supply of drugs is now linked to much greater levels of intimidation, fear and violence.
• The link between alcohol problems and drug problems is being more clearly acknowledged and recognised.
• Rehabilitation has moved to the centre of the agenda and this requires significant levels of interagency working across a whole range of state agencies and departments that do not identify the drugs issue as a core area of their responsibility.
• There are a number of communities whose needs need to be recognised and addressed in a targeted way e.g. Travellers, new ethnic communities, LGBT community.