Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 19 September 2024
Committee on Drugs Use
Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed)
9:30 am
Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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Okay. They are making the decisions. As I said, there are GPs in one or two counties specifically who are saying they are trained and there are patients but they are not being sent to them. They are a bit confused by that. Perhaps that can be dealt with separately. I can ask them to make contact with the appropriate people.
I have two final questions but I will put them together. One is in relation to benzodiazepine detox within the community. I think I did benzo training with Dr. Crowley when I was probably 20. This is how long it has been. It was nearly 20 years ago. I cannot believe I am at this stage in my life where I am saying "20 years ago I...". That is how long ago - and even before that - the conversation around benzos has been going on but we do not seem to be any further regarding having a national plan or framework for benzo detox within the communities. I understand the concerns and GPs being concerned about people topping up on the streets and all of that. Are we any closer to having any sort of strategy around people having access to benzo detox within their communities? That is the first question.
The second question is regarding the likes of tramadol and oxycodone and people being outside of that ordinary framework of what people maybe consider as someone being in addiction. I refer to men and women who are going out to work but a lot of them have developed serious addictions to the likes of tramadol or Ixprim, which is the dissolving one. The only option that has been given to one or two people I have spoken to has been that they go on a methadone programme. Obviously, this would be completely outside of their realm of daily life. They are not in drug-using communities and it is not that their peers are. It is a difference culturally. Are the witnesses seeing much of that? Are many people ending up on methadone treatment programmes from the likes of tramadol addiction? I am still at a loss to understand where it is all happening. From a point of information, I just do not understand.