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Country overview: Ireland

Key statistics on the drug situation in Ireland

  Indicator Year (0)   Country
data
EU range  
Min. Max.
Lifetime prevalence of drug use among young adults (15 to 34 years old) cannabis GPS 2006–07   28.6 % 2.9 % 45.5 % 1
Lifetime prevalence of drug use among all adults (15 to 64 years old) cannabis 2006–07   21.9 % 1.5 % 32.5 % 1
Last year prevalence of drug use among young adults (15 to 34 years old) cannabis 2006–07   10.4 % 0.9 % 21.6 % 1
Last year prevalence of drug use among all adults (15 to 64 years old) cannabis 2006–07   6.3 % 0.4 % 14.3 % 1
Lifetime prevalence of drug use among young adults (15 to 34 years old) cocaine 2006–07   8.2 % 0.1 % 13.6 % 1
Lifetime prevalence of drug use among all adults (15 to 64 years old) cocaine 2006–07   5.3 % 0.1 % 10.2 % 1
Last year prevalence of drug use among young adults (15 to 34 years old) cocaine 2006–07   3.1 % 0.1 % 4.8 % 1
Last year prevalence of drug use among all adults (15 to 64 years old) cocaine 2006–07   1.7 % 0 % 2.7 % 1
Recent school surveys: lifetime prevalence (15 to 16 years old) cannabis EYE 2007
20 % 4 % 45 % 2
Recent school surveys: lifetime prevalence (15 to 16 years old) cocaine 2007 a 4 % 1 % 5 % 2
Problem drug use rate per 1 000 population aged 15 to 64 years old PDU 2006   7.2 0.5 10.1 1
Injecting drug use rate per 1 000 population aged 15 to 64 years old       0.22 15.1 1
Infectious diseases (% infected) HIV INF       0 % 32.5 % 1
Infectious diseases (cases per million) HIV infections newly diagnosed in injecting drug users 2009   6.5 0 63.4 5
Infectious diseases (% infected) HCV       22.4 % 90.7 % 1
Infectious diseases (% infected) HBV HBsAg       0.5 % 3.9 % 1
Drug-related deaths DRD 2008   208 6 2 481 3
Drug law offences (as number of reports of offences) DLO 2007   18 646 772 397 620 2
Drug law offences for use/possession 2007   13 932 285 372 230 1
Cannabis drug law offences i 2007 a 51.4 % 24.4 % 91.5 % 4
Number of new clients entering treatment TDI 2009   3 430 21 45 048 3
Number of new clients entering treatment with known primary drug 2009   3 430 0 43 683 3
New clients entering treatment (% opioids of clients with known primary drug) 2009   44.4 % 3.1 % 92.8 % 3
New clients entering treatment (% cocaine of clients with known primary drug) 2009   15.1 % 0 % 56 % 3
New clients entering treatment (% cannabis of clients with known primary drug) 2009   32.2 % 1.9 % 80.2 % 3
Number of all clients entering treatment 2009   7 271 350 139 390 3
Number of all clients entering treatment with known primary drug 2009   7 271 350 133 960 3
All clients entering treatment (% opioids of clients with known primary drug) 2009   60.5 % 10.4 % 97.1 % 3
All clients entering treatment (% cocaine of clients with known primary drug) 2009   11.5 % 0.1 % 46.4 % 3
All clients entering treatment (% cannabis of clients with known primary drug) 2009   21.6 % 0.6 % 69.8 % 3
Syringes provided through needle and syringe programmes HSR 2009   1 097 204 0 4 861 195 1
Number of all clients in substitution treatment 2009   10 668 189 137 541 2
Price in euros per gram cannabis herb ii PPP       EUR 2 EUR 70 5
Price in euros per gram cannabis resin ii       EUR 3 EUR 19 5
Price in euros per gram cocaine ii       EUR 45 EUR 104 5
Price in euros per gram heroin (brown) ii;iv       EUR 23 EUR 135 5
Price in euros 1 tablet XTC ii       EUR 3 EUR 15.90 5
Price in euros per gram amphetamine ii       EUR 8 EUR 41.80 5
Purity (%) cocaine iii       18 % 51.3 % 5
Purity (%) heroin (brown) iii       12.9 % 37 % 5
Potency (%) cannabis resin iii;v       2.9 % 17.3 % 5
Potency (%) cannabis herb iii       1.3 % 12.4 % 5

Notes

i As percentage of all drug law offences reported.

ii When available, country provides minimum, maximum, mean, median and modal (most frequent) price in euros recorded. This table shows the mean price in euros.

iii When available, country provides minimum, maximum, mean, median and modal (most frequent) purity/potency (percentage). This table shows the mean purity/potency (percentage).

iv The minimum value in the European range refers to the mean price.

v The maximum value in the European range refers to the mean potency.

0 Most recent available data shown. Any data prior to 2005 not shown.

1 2005 to 2009 data.

2 2007 to 2009 data.

3 2008 to 2009 data.

4 2006 to 2009 data.

5 2009 data.

a Based on number of offences with cannabis as main drug.

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The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is the reference point on drugs and drug addiction information in Europe. Inaugurated in Lisbon in 1995, it is one of the EU’s decentralised agencies. Read more >>

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Page last updated: Monday, 14 November 2011