Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. In Ireland, all schools, universities, and childcare facilities were closed on 12 March, followed by closure of all non-essential shops and strict restrictions on people’s movements on 24 March. In April and May 2020, the Europe Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) conducted a Mini-European Web Survey¹ to gather information on how patterns of drug use may have changed in Europe due to Covid-19 restrictions; the impact on people who use drugs; and challenges for service providers. Data were collected from 696 respondents in Ireland between 11 April and 1 June 2020.

The post-Christmas surge in Covid-19 cases and associated hospitalisations has, thankfully, provoked limited recrimination and blame. Perhaps it stems from the exhaustion after 12 months of pandemic or a fresh determination to meet the problem with renewed vigour now that an eventual end is in sight. There is also the realisation that this is a complex problem requiring the rigorous application of analytical and implementation skills from many disciplines. Early in the twentieth century, the journalist HL Mencken observed that ‘for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong’. So, while it may seem like a platitude to say a problem is complex, it is often the best answer to the many clear, simple, and wrong solutions offered, often in the loudest voice.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has published reports on the evidence and recommended policy actions for reducing the harm caused by alcohol via its pricing and marketing regulations.^{1, 2} The reports are intended to be a resource for governments and those implementing policies across Europe.

A paper by Darcy (2021) outlining a toolkit for those delivering drug education was published in the Health Education Journal entitled ‘Drug education best practice for health, community and youth workers: a practical and accessible tool-kit’.¹ It aims to support health, community, and youth workers by providing best practice guidance on drug education with children, young people, and adults. As well as outlining effective approaches to adopt when delivering drug education and issues to consider when setting up and delivering a programme, the paper sets out to provide conceptual clarity on the distinction between drug education and other approaches to drug issues, in particular drug prevention.

In his paper outlining a toolkit for those delivering drug education, Darcy (2021) refers to the EMCDDA’s Best Practice Portal.^1,2 The Best Practice Portal is designed to help practitioners find practical and reliable information on what works (and what does not) in the areas of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and social reintegration. It aims to help them identify tried and tested interventions quickly, allocate resources to what is effective, and improve interventions applying tools, standards, and guidelines. The portal is divided into four broad areas.

The voice of people who use drugs (PWUD) is often missing from the debate on drug policy. In an effort to address this gap, Leonard and Windle in 2020 published the findings of a qualitative study carried out in Cork: ‘I could have went down a different path’: talking to people who used drugs problematically and service providers about Irish drug policy alternatives.¹ The findings are placed within the broader context of international literature on the topic.

This is the seventh Irish data-collection wave of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) that collects comparable data on substance use among European students aged 15 and 16 years.¹ In the 2019 data-collection wave, 1,949 Irish students, from a stratified random sample of 50 post-primary schools, completed a questionnaire on issues including alcohol use, cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use, cannabis and other illegal drug use, gambling, gaming, and internet use.

At least one in six young people in Ireland suffers from alcohol-related harms at home due to parental problem alcohol use. This exposure is considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE), the effects of which can be lifelong, impacting both physical and mental health. Silent Voices, an initiative of Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), seeks to highlight the harm caused by parental problem alcohol use and its impact across the lifespan.¹

Using accounts from children – including reflections from adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) – affected by parental problem alcohol use, AAI collaborated with the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork (UCC) to understand how children cope with this ACE, particularly during their school years.² It considers the role that schools could play in identifying and supporting this cohort of children and makes recommendations for teachers, schools, and the education system.

In September 2020, the Department of Justice and Equality published a review and evaluation of two Garda Youth Diversion Programmes (GYDPs).^1,2,3 The aim of the evaluation was to examine the effectiveness of two pilot youth justice intervention programmes supported by the Department of Justice and Equality: Programme A and B.¹

In July 2020, the Department of Justice and Equality published the Report of proceedings: a Garda Youth Diversion Projects annual conference 2019.¹ The conference, which took place in the Croke Park Conference Centre on 6 November 2019, brought together over 300 delegates from across Ireland. The conference provided a space for delegates to reflect on existing practices and experiences, learn from each other, and contribute to how the Garda Youth Diversion Programme (GYDP) and youth justice policy develop going forward.

In the opening address, the then Minister of State David Stanton TD welcomed delegates to the conference, which aimed to focus on issues of professional and personal importance to him, as a politician and former teacher and guidance counsellor. Department of Justice and Equality updates were delivered by principal officer Deaglán Ó Briain, responsible for criminal policy and community safety policy.

The event consisted of two sessions: the morning focused on providing information (presentations and discussions), while the afternoon involved interaction (plenary sessions and facilitated working groups of 15 to 20 participants). The first guest presentation was by Noeline Blackwell, human rights lawyer and CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. This was followed by presentations from Chief Supt Colette Quinn, director of the Youth Diversion Programme at An Garda Síochána; the Action Research Project team at the University of Limerick; and the Best Practice Development team at the Department of Justice and Equality.

A recent study by Lynch et al. (2020) explored the effectiveness of primary care interventions on reducing or discontinuing benzodiazepine/Z-drug use compared with usual care.¹ Benzodiazepines are often indicated in the clinical treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Z-drugs (zopiclone and zolpidem) behave similar to benzodiazepines but are not classed as such. Z-drugs and benzodiazepines can however be grouped as benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA). Treatment recommendations include restricting use to short time periods due to the implications of addiction and withdrawal. However, treatment guidelines are often not adhered to, resulting in long-term BZRA use persisting worldwide. Prevalence rates of BZRA consumption is highest among older people (65+ years), making them particularly vulnerable to adverse physical and cognitive effects of BZRA use.

Much of the research on interventions has focused on benzodiazepines, with Z-drugs receiving less attention. A critique of the research into these interventions is the absence of theoretical underpinnings, limiting the understanding of the mechanisms of change impacting outcomes. To account for this, the study authors applied the theoretical domains framework (TDF) to understand the barriers and facilitators to behaviour change necessary for effective interventions.

In May 2020, a report that examined the short-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on European Union (EU) drug markets was published.¹ This was a joint initiative by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol. The aim of the report was to increase understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on EU drug markets. Within this context, the definition of the illicit drugs market included illicit production, trafficking, and wholesale distribution and sale to the end-user (p. 6). The findings in the report are centred on data collected using a targeted EMCDDA online survey completed by drug experts in EU member states (n=29), intelligence gathered by Europol on organised crime, and open source information. Areas examined in the report include impacts and drivers of drug markets, the main drug types, criminal groups, law enforcement responses, and outlook.