Drivers involved in road traffic accidents should face mandatory drug testing and we should all carry a national identity card, according to the North Eastern Regional Drugs Task Force.
Publishing their strategy for the next four years, the group has identified 39 key gaps in the provision of services to tackle the problem of drugs abuse in the region. The total cost of providing these services would be €2.35m.
Among the gaps the report highlights are the lack of a full time co-ordinator, not enough GPs and pharmacies involved in providing treatment to addicts as well as the need for more programmes to prevent people leaving school early and other early intervention programmes.
It also highlights the fact that the National Drugs Strategy set the end of 2001 as the date for delivery of schools based drug awareness programmes but it will be the end of this year before that is completed in the northeast.
