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

Dr. Des Crowley:

That is the next point. The professional would need to look at the risk to his or her patients to see in which context they are using and in which context he or she would need to provide the training, most likely to a family member, because the drug-related deaths are telling here. Approximately 70% of drug-related deaths are opioid based, which is where naloxone is very effective, and only four out of ten die alone, so there tends to be somebody present in the house or wherever.