Drug Use In Ireland

MORI Ireland was commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs in the Republic of Ireland and the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit in Northern Ireland to conduct the first drug prevalence survey of households across the island of Ireland.

MORI Ireland was commissioned by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs in the Republic of Ireland and the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit in Northern Ireland to conduct the first drug prevalence survey of households across the island of Ireland.

The focus of this landmark research was to collect prevalence figures for drug use across the island of Ireland.

One in five (19%) reported ever using an illegal drug. Cannabis appears to be the established drug of choice, with lifetime prevalence figures of 17% and 18% respectively for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Ecstasy and magic mushrooms are the next most common illegal drugs, with four per cent of respondents reporting lifetime use. Drugs such as heroin (0.4%), cocaine (2.7%) and LSD (3.5%) have lower lifetime prevalence figures.

Young males are more likely to have used illegal drugs. A quarter of males compared to 14% of females report ever taking an illegal drug. Young adults (15-34 year-olds) are more likely to have used illegal drugs (28%) than respondents aged between 35 and 64, with drug prevalence following a sliding scale in inverse proportion to age (35-44: 18% / 45-54: 11% / 55-64: 5%). For young adults, cannabis is the most common drug ever taken (25%), followed by ecstasy (eight per cent), poppers (six per cent) and magic mushrooms (six per cent).

A quarter of young adults in Northern Ireland have ever used cannabis, with over one in 10 ever using ecstasy (12%) and poppers (11%). Ecstasy (seven per cent) and magic mushrooms (six per cent) are the second and third most common drugs ever used amongst young adults in the Republic of Ireland, while 24% had ever used cannabis.

The highest lifetime prevalence figures were evident in the 25 to 34 year old age group. A third of 25-34 year-olds in Northern Ireland report to have ever taken an illegal drug, the corresponding figure for the Republic of Ireland being 28%.

While not classified as illegal drugs, one in four 55-64 year-olds across the island of Ireland report ever taking sedatives, tranquillisers or anti-depressants, while one in 10 of this age group (11%) have taken such drugs in the past month ('current usage'). Lifetime prevalence for such drugs was higher among female respondents (19%) than males (11%).

While the lifetime prevalence figures for illegal drug intake are very similar across both jurisdictions, there is a significant disparity between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland when it comes to sedative, tranquilliser and anti-depressant use, with the Northern Ireland figure of 22% almost double that for the Republic of Ireland (12%).

Three per cent of all 15-64 year-olds have used a drug illicitly in the past month (five per cent of men and two per cent of women). Cannabis is the most commonly used drug in the past month (three per cent), followed by ecstasy (0.4%) and cocaine (0.3%).

Almost one in 10 (eight per cent) of 15-24 year-olds have taken a drug illicitly in the past month, with six per cent reporting current use of cannabis, followed by ecstasy (1.1%), cocaine (0.7%) and amphetamines (0.6%).

Technical details

The survey sampled a representative number of people aged between 15 and 64 between October 2002 and April 2003. The total number of in-home face-to-face interviews achieved was 8,442 (4,925 in Ireland and 3,517 in Northern Ireland).

Unless otherwise stated, all figures relate to the island of Ireland.

This survey is based on work commissioned and funded by NACD and DAIRU. The view expressed in this survey are the author's (MORI Ireland) own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the commissioning bodies.

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