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Coleman, Lorraine and Connolly, Johnny (2007) Focus on methamphetamine. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 24, Winter 2007, p. 18.

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The Garda National Drugs Unit recently undertook a project in partnership with the UK and Sweden, and funded by the AGIS programme, which examined the potential threat posed by the increased incidence of methamphetamine use throughout the EU, and remedies undertaken to date by respective agencies, including law enforcement, forensic science and customs services. As part of the project, study visits to centres of expertise in partner and participating countries took place between March and October 2007, and a uniform questionnaire was completed in 10 countries to elicit relevant information. 

The project culminated in an international conference in the Nuremore Hotel, Co Monaghan, from 26 to 28 November 2007. The aim of the conference was ‘to establish a threat assessment for the increase in availability of methamphetamine within the European Union’. The seminar was launched by Assistant Garda Commissioner Martin Donnellan. Throughout the three-day conference, presentations were given on:

  • the role of Eurojust in the fight against serious cross-border and organised crime
  • UK and US perspectives on methamphetamine
  • a Swedish perspective on methamphetamine in the Nordic region

 A series of workshops discussed the following topics:

  • Observations on methamphetamine abuse and the threat which it poses within the EU
  • Legal frameworks on the control of illegal drugs and the need to have sufficient, modern legislation concentrated on illegal drug controls
  • International and interagency co-operation and the need for law enforcement agencies to have a professional and organised approach to co-operation between agencies
  • The role of forensic science laboratories in helping law enforcement personnel to combat the threat of methamphetamine
  • Synthetic drug laboratories, and the amount of expertise, knowledge and equipment required by law enforcement personnel to safely identify, investigate and dismantle them
  • Drug treatment policies and the range of health and socio-economic harms that synthetic drug abuse poses to users and society.

 Recommendations emerging from the workshops called for the regulation of precursor chemicals used in the production of synthetic drugs; protocols to deal with laboratories, including health and safety and enforcement issues; EU-shared profiling of precursor chemicals involved in synthetic drug synthesis; a standardised approach to the forensic analysis of precursor chemicals; and a co-ordinated EU framework to tackle the needs of law enforcement agencies in the fight against methamphetamine. A full report on the conference is due in early 2008.

 

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, International, Open Access, Article
Drug Type
CNS stimulants
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Issue Title
Issue 24, Winter 2007
Date
October 2007
Page Range
p. 18
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 24, Winter 2007
EndNote
Accession Number
HRB (Available)

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