Cannabis, cocaine, the drug most commonly used by patients seeking treatment for alcohol consumption: study



[ad_1]

Cocaine and cannabis are the drugs most commonly consumed by patients seeking treatment for alcohol addiction, concludes a new Irish study published by the Health Research Board (HRB).

One in five cases involved the treatment of multi-drug users, that is, treated for addiction or problematic use of more than one substance. Some of the conclusions include:

  • 55,675 cases of treatment for alcohol abuse were recorded between 2011 and 2017;
  • the figures show a high utilization rate in 2011 (8,876 cases) compared to a lower rate in 2017 (7,350 cases);
  • the number of new cases decreased from 48% in 2011 to 48% in 2017.

Cannabis was the drug most often consumed at the same time as alcohol: 68% in 2011 and 61% in 2017.

Cocaine is the second most frequently abused drug. It increased from 29% in 2011 to 42% in 2017. Cocaine use was more prevalent among men (44%) than women (34%).

Benzodiazepines rank in the top three with 23%, 22% in 2011 and 23% in 2016.

Alcohol "remains the main drug behind treatment in Ireland," said Dr. Darrin Morrissey, Director General of the HRB, stressing that it is much more difficult to recover from the use of more than one drug. use only one substance.

"This, coupled with the very high percentages of alcohol addiction, underscores the chronic nature of addiction," Morrissey points out.

The HRB badyzes data from various Irish drug treatment centers, as well as from the Drug Treatment Reporting System.

It is important to note that each case refers to a treatment episode, as opposed to a patient – so that patients can be counted more than once in a calendar year.

Do you want to know what's going on in the world of cannabis? Subscribe to the Cannabis Post newsletter for a weekly overview of the industry, topics covered by insiders and content from across the Postmedia network.

[ad_2]
Source link