Countless studies have shown it to be a drug that is not addictive and has next to no adverse physical effects, especially compared to alcohol and nicotine, Ireland's drugs of choice. Lack of testing facilities means that people are at risk from unscrupulous dealers. Heroin is a different matter. The physical craving for heroin, and the side-effects of withdrawal, prove unbearable for many, and ensure that there is a steady demand, even if the price is driven up by raids or seizures at customs. It requires a lot of resources to deal with the problem of heroin in any meaningful way.
Needle exchanges are essential to stop the spread of disease through dirty needles.
Helping someone get off heroin means supplying them with other drugs to lessen the withdrawal symptoms, providing them with support facilities so that they do actually clean up rather than just develop another addiction, and finally, making sure that there is an alternative waiting for them so that they don't get hooked again six months after detoxing. The absence of this support means that heroin is likely to remain a problem in Dublin for some time. But it is important to realise exactly what the problem is. Too often, analysis goes no further than 'Drugs are bad, heroin is a drug, therefore heroin is bad'. Addiction to something as demanding as heroin means that most users cannot afford a sense of social responsibility.