This research was funded by and carried out for the Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force. Its objectives were to obtain a demographic profile of the Ballymun area, to get an accurate figure of the number of known opiate users in the area, to examine the relationship between the profile and the level of opiate use, and to look at the implications for drug and related services. Additional aims were to estimate the number of drug users in Ballymun, to identify the risk factors associated with problem drug use in the area, and to make recommendations based on these findings. The research focused on known opiate users, although the author recognised this was not the only type of problem drug use that existed.

Research was conducted on site in various relevant organisations in Ballymun and its surrounds, using the capture-recapture method to reach its target population - opiate users in Ballymun. Local services were consulted, including the Ballymun Youth Action Project, the Gardaí and hospitals. Treatment data were also used. The study identified a total of 683 known opiate users in Ballymun in 1998; 450 were male and 233 were female. In the 15- to 19-year-old age group, the ratio of male to female users was found to be more equal, suggesting an increasing trend in the numbers of young females using opiates.