Trends in treated drug misuse in the Western Health Board Area 1996-2000. Occasional Paper no. 4.

This occasional paper contains information gathered by the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS), an epidemiological database on treated drug misuse complied by the Drug Misuse Research Division (DMRD) of the Health Research Board (HRB). The data shows that the number of drug users presenting for treatment within the Western Health Board (WHB) rose from 11 in 1996 to 22 in 1999 and fell to 14 in 2000. The socio-demographic data showed that the typical client is male, in his early twenties and living in the family home. Cannabis and ecstasy are the main problem causing drugs, with a total of 2 clients reporting for opiate use in 2000, a fall from 6 the previous year