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Topic quick links:
Cover page
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All articles in this issue:
 Assessment of the value of youth work in Ireland
 Review of drugs task forces and national structures continues
 HSE targets for drug-related services in 2013
 EU drug markets - a strategic analysis
 National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol
 Update on drug-related deaths and deaths among drug users
 Substance misuse in the eastern counties of HSE South
 Approaches to drug decriminalisation in disparate countries
 Investigating the links between substance misuse and crime
 Driving under the influence in Europe
 Trial of group psychological intervention for psychosis with cannabis dependence
 Vocational training, employment and addiction recovery
 Soilse graduation
 'Let's talk about drugs'
 In brief
 From Drugnet Europe
 Fourteenth annual Service of Commemoration and Hope
 European Drug Prevention Prize: experiences of an Irish juror
 Recent publications
 Upcoming events
 Drugs: breaking the cycle
 New EU drugs strategy reflects 'new thinking'
From Drugnet Europe
by Joan Moore (compiler)

Drug policy profile — Ireland
Cited from Drugnet Europe, No. 81, January–March 2013                     

The national drug policy of Ireland comes under the spotlight in the latest volume in the EMCDDA series of Drug policy profiles published in February. Examining the evolution of Irish drug policy through four periods of historic development, the report explores: the country’s national strategies; the legal context within which they operate; the public funds spent, or committed, to implement them; and the political bodies and mechanisms set up to coordinate the response to the problem. The profile sets this information in context by outlining the size, wealth and economic situation of the country as a whole, as well as the historical development of the current policy. Also described is the manner in which events in Ireland bear similarities with, and differences from, developments in other European countries. This EMCDDA series aims to describe some of the main characteristics of national drug policies in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The profiles do not attempt to assess national policies, but instead outline their development and main features.

www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/drug-policy-profiles/ireland

  

Measuring daily cannabis use
Cited from article by Danica Thanki in Drugnet Europe, No. 81, January–March 2013

A recent EMCDDA Thematic paper entitled Prevalence of daily cannabis use in the European Union and Norway presents a new overview of this issue in Europe. Daily cannabis consumption is defined in the study as use on 20 days or more in the month preceding interview. Self-reported data regarding the frequency of cannabis use from large, probabilistic, nationally representative samples of general population surveys were collected from 20 countries. …

The analysis offered by the report enhances our understanding of the marked increases in the demand for treatment associated with cannabis problems over the last 15 years. The study found that, on average, 25% of last-month cannabis users consume the substance daily. This pattern of use is more prevalent among young adults (15–34 years), who represent around 70% of daily users, and among males (almost 3.5 male cases to one female case). The EMCDDA estimates that there are around 3 million daily cannabis users in the EU and Norway. Relatively large country variations in prevalence exist.

For more, see www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/thematic-papers/daily-cannabis-use

 

Multidimensional family-therapy and cannabis use
Article by Marica Ferri in Drugnet Europe, No. 81, January–March 2012

The EMCDDA has recently conducted a meta-analysis of a multi-site European study and US studies on multidimensional family-therapy (MDFT). This integrative, family-based treatment is specifically targeted at adolescent drug use and related behavioural problems. Encouraging results have been noted in particular with MDFT and young cannabis users. Users enrolled in this type of treatment were seen to attend all scheduled sessions and, as a result, to reduce their cannabis consumption and to experience fewer symptoms of dependence. These results are of particular importance considering the rising demand for the treatment of cannabis use in Europe (see above).

MDFT will be one of the issues examined later this year in a new EMCDDA Insights publication on the Treatment of cannabis-related disorders and will be the subject of an upcoming EMCDDA Thematic paper.

See the EMCDDA Best Practice portal www.emcdda.europa.eu/best-practice/treatment/cannabis-users

 

Drugnet Europe is the quarterly newsletter of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

Drugs in focus is a series of policy briefings published by the EMCDDA. Both publications are available at www.emcdda.europa.eu.

 If you would like a hard copy of the current or future issues of either publication, please contact:

Health Research Board, Knockmaun House, 42–47 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01 2345 148; Email: drugnet@hrb.ie. 



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