Home > Drug and Alcohol Trends Monitoring System (DATMS) 2022: Year 7.

Robinson, Janet and Doherty, Jim (2023) Drug and Alcohol Trends Monitoring System (DATMS) 2022: Year 7. Dublin: Blanchardstown Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

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Research Objectives & Method
In 2015 we developed our DATMS in Dublin 15. The objective was to establish an evidence base for drug use in Dublin 15 and use this data to inform local service provision. The study is repeated annually to always have current information and monitor changes over time. This report documents the seventh year of our DATMS. The Year 1 reporting period began June 2014, Year 2 began June 2015, Year 3 to 7 is from 2017 to 2021. The DATMS employs a mixed-method design comprised of primary and secondary data sources. Years 1 to 5 and 7 involved a trend report, and Year 6 involved a qualitative longitudinal study that explored clients’ experiences of attending treatment and family support services.

Trend Analysis
A trend analysis from Years 1 to 7 identifies three recurring themes emerging from different data sources. These themes give us a deeper understanding of the nature and consequences of drug and alcohol use in Dublin 15. As a range of data sources has produced these themes, the validity of the research findings has been strengthened.

THEME 1: Drug use in Dublin 15 is a community wide issue that crosses all socio-economic boundaries
This theme profiles drug use in Dublin 15 as a community wide issue that crosses all socio-economic boundaries. It has been identified by the following data sources: treatment demand, untreated drug use, factors contributing to drug use, and the consequences of drug and alcohol use. The evidence is as follows:

  • Mapping treatment demand for treated drug users and family members affected by drug and alcohol use, including hidden harm (children aged under 18), has identified that clients were from every community in Dublin 15, from the affluent to the socio-economically deprived.
  • Years 1 to 7 reported treated drug users aged under 18 attended secondary schools with and without DEIS status. Since Year 3, the evidence reports that these schools were a mixture of affluent and socio-economically deprived.
  • All six years of the DATMS trend data reported untreated drug use among all socio-economic groups, ethnicities and in all areas of Dublin 15.
  • Since Year 1, drug dealing has been reported in local secondary schools. From Years 3 to 7, over 60% of secondary schools had evidence of drug dealing, with Year 5 reporting drug dealing in all local secondary schools. Since Year 3, these schools have been a mixture of affluent and socioeconomically deprived, including those with and without DEIS status.
  • All six years of the DATMS trend data reported drug use before and during school time in local secondary schools. Since Year 2, the evidence reports that these schools were a mixture of affluent and socio-economically deprived and included those with and without DEIS status. Since Year 5, participants reported drug use in all local secondary schools.
  • Since Year 1, participants reported that some secondary school students’ education was compromised due to drug use before and during school. Since Year 2, participants reported that these schools were a mixture of affluent and socio-economically deprived and included those with and without DEIS status.

THEME 2: Normalisation of drug and alcohol use in Dublin 15
In all six years of the DATMS trend data, the normalisation of drug use has featured prominently. The common perception was that alcohol and drugs were widely used, risk free and socially acceptable. The following data sources have identified this theme: treatment demand, untreated drug use, factors contributing to drug use and gaps in service provision. Alcohol was the most normalised drug in Dublin 15, followed by cannabis, cocaine powder, benzodiazepines and z drugs. Service providers and drug users reported the following consequences of normalisation:

  1. Since Year 3, the normalisation of drug use was reported as a factor contributing to the increase in drug use in Dublin 15.
  2. The normalisation of drug use may be a factor contributing to the reduction in the age of drug users in Dublin 15. Since Year 3, it has been reported that untreated drug users have been getting younger.
  3. Since Year 3, data concerning gaps in service provision has reported the need to improve treatment programmes for under 18s and young people aged 18 to 25. Research participants reported that these programmes must proactively attract the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach as most young drug users do not perceive the need for treatment. The normalisation of drug and alcohol use may be a factor that hinders help-seeking.
  4. Since Year 2, an increase in the amount of under 18s dealing drugs has been reported. Since Year 5, participants reported that drug runners were getting younger. The normalisation of drug use may influence a young person’s decision to become involved in the drug market as they may not identify the negative consequences of such behaviour.
  5. All six years of the DATMS trend data reported the family context as a risk factor for the normalisation of drug and alcohol use and the development of inter-generational drug and alcohol dependence. Since Year 3, the majority of treated drug users who participated in the DATMS reported having family members who also had issues with drugs and/or alcohol.
  6. Treatment demand data reports the main drugs used were those which were normalised, except for heroin:
  • Treated drug users aged under 18: From Years 1 to 7, cannabis herb was the most commonly used drug, followed by alcohol; since Year 2, an increase in the use of cannabis herb, cocaine powder and alcohol was reported
  • Treated adult drug users: From 2016 to 2021, the NDTRS reports the five main problem drugs were cocaine, alcohol, heroin, cannabis and benzodiazepines; over the reporting period, an increase in the number of cases treated for cocaine, alcohol and cannabis was reported, with cocaine becoming the most common main problem drug

THEME 3: Increase in drug and alcohol use in Dublin 15
Since Year 2, an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol has been reported by treated and untreated drug users. The data identifies how an increase in the availability of drugs and alcohol and the normalisation of drugs and alcohol contributes to this trend. The increase in drug and alcohol use has been identified by the following data sources: treated drug use, untreated drug use and factors contributing to drug use.

  • Treatment demand data reported an increase in the number of cases treated for drug and/or alcohol use, and this may be associated with an increase in drug use: NDTRS data reports treated adult cases increased by 67% from 292 in 2016 to 487 in 2021
  • Since Year 2, treated and untreated drug users reported an increase in the use of the following drugs [See report tables]
  • Each year the DATMS has reported an increase in the availability of drugs in Dublin 15. This increase is associated with an increase in drug and alcohol use. It identifies how demand influences the local drug market. This increase in demand has also increased the number of drug distributors. All drugs that have increased in availability are the most commonly used, except for crack cocaine:
  • Since Year 1, an increase in the availability of benzodiazepines and z drugs has been reported; since Year 4, synthetic (NPS) benzodiazepines and z drugs were reported to be more commonly available than authentic tablets
  • Since Year 3, an increase in the availability of cannabis herb, powder and crack cocaine has been reported
    Year 7 reported an increase in the availability of MDMA, ketamine and nitrous oxide
  • The increase in drug use is also associated with an increase in the types of drugs available, which identifies new trends in drug use. The chart below reports the new drugs that have entered the local market and the year they were first reported to the DATMS. Most of these drugs are not commonly used though some are increasing in popularity......

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