On 25 January 2016 Coolmine Therapeutic Community (CTC) published the results of a longitudinal outcomes study Pathways through treatment: a mixed-methods longitudinal outcomes study of Coolmine Therapeutic Community.¹  The key finding of the study is that, despite the many instances of relapse, the positive impact of all CTC programmes on clients is undeniable. Overall, substance use declined, physical and mental health improved, and clients demonstrated improvements with regard to housing, employment, education and family relationships.

The Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform has mandated the Department of Health to develop a new National Drugs Strategy, to follow the current National Drugs Strategy which will expire at the end of 2016.¹ Late in 2015 the Minister with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy established a Steering Committee to provide him with guidance and advice in the development of the new Strategy. This Committee met for the first time on 8 December 2015.

While work is proceeding on developing the strategic approach that will be adopted when the current National Drugs Strategy 2009–2016 expires at the end of this year, Drugnet Ireland takes a look at a selection of current drugs strategies from around the world to explore the range of approaches that are being taken to this complex and hydra-headed challenge.

On 10 December 2015 Gordon Jeyes, the Chief Executive of TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency, appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children to give an update on TUSLA’s activities in 2015 and its priorities for 2016 (Table 1).¹ The update reported progress in implementing TUSLA’s first corporate plan, which was launched in February 2015.²