On 18 December 2020, the EU Drugs Strategy 2021–2025 was approved by the Council of Europe.¹ The strategy outlines the overarching political framework and priorities of the drugs policy of the European Union (EU) for the period.

This article outlines the policy areas, cross-cutting themes, and strategic priorities of the EU Drugs Strategy 2021–2025.

The new European Union (EU) Drugs Strategy 2021–2025¹ was published in December 2020 and is discussed in other articles in this issue of Drugnet. It is informed by the findings of the evaluation of the EU Drugs Strategy 2013–2020 and the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017–2020, which was published in July 2020.^2,3

October 2018 saw the much-anticipated enactment of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act¹ and heralded a recognition by the Irish Government that our nation’s harmful relationship with alcohol could no longer be ignored. The legislation seeks to limit the damage to the nation’s health, society, and economy by reducing alcohol consumption; delaying the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people; reducing the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol; and ensuring the supply and price of alcohol is regulated and controlled in order to minimise the possibility and incidence of alcohol-related harm.

The alcohol industry and the public health community formed two opposing coalitions during the policy debate.³ The alcohol industry’s success in resisting population-level approaches to alcohol policy has been identified in Ireland^4,5,6,7–11 and elsewhere.^12–20 In contrast, public health advocates have typically had limited success. Yet in this case, public health advocates in Ireland have developed sophisticated political strategies to foster major alcohol policy change.

The Self-Harm Assessment and Data Analysis (SADA) Project was set up in Ireland in 2016 to provide robust information relating to the incidence and profile of self-harm within prison settings as well as individual-specific and context-specific risk factors relating to self-harm. In addition, it examines patterns of repeat self-harm (both non-fatal and fatal). The Health Service Executive’s National Office for Suicide Prevention and the National Suicide Research Foundation assist the Irish Prison Service with data management, data analysis, and reporting. This article highlights findings from a report presenting data in the analysis of all episodes of self-harm across the Irish prison estate during the year 2018.¹

Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) is an associated office of the Department of Justice delivering comprehensive scientific analysis, independent expert opinion, advice, and training to support the Irish criminal justice system. The analysis of substances that are suspected to contravene the Misuse of Drugs legislation comprises the majority of submitted cases to FSI. Analysis of these cases is carried out by the Chemical Analysis Department in FSI and cases range in both content and complexity.

The first Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey was conducted in Ireland in 1998 and has been repeated every four years ever since. In 2018, the study was conducted in Ireland for the sixth time. This survey included 15,557 children aged 8 to 18 years, drawn from a representative sample of 255 primary and post-primary schools across Ireland. Data were collected on general health, social class, smoking, use of alcohol and other substances, food and dietary behaviour, exercise and physical activity, self-care, injuries, bullying, and sexual health behaviours.

The Irish national drugs strategy aims to improve access to treatment services for people who are homeless who use drugs and have complex needs. On behalf of the Department of Health, the Health Research Board commissioned the Salvation Army Centre for Addiction Services and Research (SACASR), the University of Stirling, and the Public Health Institute at Liverpool John Moores University to systematically review and synthesise the international evidence on the efficacy of interventions designed to serve this population. This synthesis will inform policies, currently under review, regarding the provision of services to people who are homeless.

It has been known that drug-related intimidation (DRI) impacts on many Irish communities. The Drug-Related Intimidation Initiative (DRII) project was established in 2019 to examine this issue in Dublin’s north east inner city (NEIC). The main objectives of the initiative were twofold: first to provide support to individuals experiencing DRI and second to conduct research into these experiences to increase knowledge and understanding from the perspective of the victim, perpetrator, or both, with the final aim of developing good practice guidelines to respond to DRI (p. 6).¹

On 27 January 2021, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD launched ground-breaking research carried out by the Research Evidence into Policy Programmes and Practice (REPPP) Project team at the University of Limerick. Overall, there were three reports: Lifting the lid on Bluetown,¹ Lifting the lid on Redtown,² and a national prevalence study.³ This article presents a synthesis of the Bluetown and Redtown studies.^1,2

The prevalence of cannabis use has increased in many developed countries in recent years. In the Republic of Ireland, the most recent national survey, conducted in 2014/15, found that 27.9% of people aged 15–64 years had used cannabis at some point in their lives, with 7.7% and 4.4% having used cannabis within the last year or last month.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant contributor to morbidity and premature mortality and represents a major public health problem worldwide.

Approaches to addiction treatment remain a source of ongoing policy debate worldwide

Governments have always planned for the future, with varying degrees of success. However, the State’s efforts to anticipate the needs of future generations rarely capture the imagination of populations more focused on current economic conditions, access to public services, and social stability. The events of 2020/2021 may signal a shift in the priorities of electorates. There has been a move towards climate realism in wealthier countries and a recognition of the need to prepare for the next pandemic. Making changes now to avert possible catastrophes decades in the future is no longer seen as a distraction from current policy concerns, but as an inevitable and core part of the State’s responsibilities to its present and future citizens.