CAD Annual Report 2001 Community Awareness of Drugs …… ‘Drug Prevention through Education’ CAD, Community Awareness of Drugs 31, Central Hotel Chambers, Dame Court, Dublin 2. Ireland. Ph: 00 353 1 679 2681 Fax: 00 353 1 679 7818 Email:
[email protected] CAD is a voluntary organisation and registered charity in receipt of core funding under Section 65 of the 1953 Health Act Patron: Mary Mc Aleese, President of Ireland. 1 Introduction Since 1983, CAD has sought to provide parents and the voluntary/community sector with information and training most pertinent to the prevention of/or earliest possible intervention in substance misuse related problems. The year 2001 was no exception, as a number of indicators, signalled increased prevalence rates related to the varying levels of engagement with mood altering substances by young people. While the more recent surveys continue to demonstrate that the vast majority of Irish young people refrain from regular use of illicit substances, experimentation, more regular and dependent usage rates, remain a significant cause for concern. In addition, a profound ambivalence to the use of alcohol continues to be quite evident in Irish society in general, and is of particular concern to those with an interest in the physical, emotional and social well being of Irish youth. The year also brought reports from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) on the prioritisation of drug education programmes across Europe. Closer to home, at a more local level, CAD Tutors continued to deliver our ‘Parenting for Prevention’ drug education programme, primarily in local drug task force areas.