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Pike, Brigid (2010) British–Irish Council summit discusses illicit drugs. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 32, Winter 2009, p. 7.

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On 13 November 2009 the British–Irish Council held its 13th summit meeting. The Irish Government delegation was led by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD, and included Éamon Ó Cuív TD,Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The Council noted that the Sectoral Group on the Misuse of Drugs held three meetings during 2009.

  1. In March, Guernsey briefed the group on the introduction of its new legislation to ban ‘Spice’ and other psychoactive substances. The aim of this legislation is to disrupt the commercial importation and sale of such substances (as opposed to criminalising users). The issue of ‘Spice’ and ‘legal highs’ has now come to prominence at EU level. Given the ongoing developments, the BIC Sectoral Group is in agreement that the issue should remain as a standing agenda item for discussion in future meetings.
  2. In May, Dr Suzi Lyons of the Alcohol and Drug Research Unit of the Health Research Board gave a presentation to the group on the development and the content of the country’s National Drug-Related Deaths Index, which was launched in late 2008. The Index gives Ireland an accurate picture of the levels of drug-related deaths, thus facilitating policy development in the drugs area.
  3. A meeting held in September focused on prevention and how Scotland was raising awareness among the overall population of the dangers of drug use through their national Know the Score campaign.
The next ministerial meeting will be held in 2010 and ministers will discuss substance misuse in the prison setting and the responses necessary to address this issue, along with how best to provide effective treatment and rehabilitation options to this cohort.  

For further information visit www.british-irishcouncil.org

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
New psychoactive substance
Issue Title
Issue 32, Winter 2009
Date
18 January 2010
Page Range
p. 7
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 32, Winter 2009
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Available)

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