Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515076
9 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JANUARY 2024 This means the percentage of individuals coming forward for treatment for their heroin problem has declined by more than half, from 56% in 2010 to 20% in 2020, whereas that for cocaine, have increased and now forms the major cohort of the new entrants who seek treatment, to just above 50%. While heroin was a major problem drug in Malta, over the last decades the services in place to treat heroin addic- tion have worked well to fight addiction: inpatient and out- patient services, as well as opi- ate agonist treatment (OAT), a well women's clinic, a syringe distribution system, tests for HIV, HepC and HepB, relevant counselling and residential ser- vices. Now health authorities are concerned about the relapse of what it said is an "ageing popu- lation" that still has heroin ad- diction problems. On the contrary, the new problem drug that defines a younger generation is cocaine, followed by cannabis and then heroin. From the 500 or so seeking treatment for the very first time in 2020, which is nearly double that of the past five years, cocaine accounted for 52% – steadily up from 25% in 2010. Problematic cannabis use ac- counted for some 27% of those seeking treatment in 2019, which is almost double that in 2010 at 15%; while for heroin it was 20%, down from the 56% rate of 2010. "These findings from those entering treatment are sup- ported by the findings from the data provided by the hospital emergency unit in which the numbers of non-fatal overdos- es for cocaine and cannabis and its synthetic form outweigh those for heroin by a signifi- cant margin," the national drug report says. "Now is the time to better cater for both cocaine and cannabis without forgetting that the heroin problem is still there but has been reduced. Moreover, those individuals seeking services for their men- tal health problem combined with their substance use dis- order, termed dual diagnosis or co-morbidity, seem to be on the rise as it was estimat- ed that some third to a half of patients entering the psychi- atric hospital, Mount Carmel Hospital, are those with a dual diagnosis." Maltese society has seen dif- ferent trends in drug use: re- search shows that cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and the new synthetics, known as new psychoactive substances (NPS) are the most commonly used drugs among the young- er age cohort as is the case the world over. Psychotropic medication, such as tranquillisers and anti- depressants are the most wide- ly misused prescription drugs in the age cohort of 35 years and over. Many more males than fe- males use drugs but this is the reverse with respect to the mis- use of prescription medication. The Correctional Service Agency's Corradino prison hosts some 850 inmates, of which some 40% were held for drug related offences, and of these 30% are under arrest pending trial, whereas the rest had been sentenced by the courts for drug related offenc- es. Over the years recidivism has been estimated to be around 75% for all, but heroin users were more likely to re-offend. grow older, as cocaine becomes new problem drug From the 500 or so seeking treatment for the very first time in 2020, which is nearly double that of the past five years, cocaine accounted for 52% – steadily up from 25% in 2010