National Drugs Conference 2010

At the Irish Needle Exchange Forum (INEF) conference in November 2009, members from throughout the spectrum of drug services in Ireland were in attendance (e.g. Abstinence Based and Harm Reduction services). Feedback from the conference delegates was good and it was clear that the conference benefited from the range of disciplines within the delegate group.

Building on this experience, and under the guidance of the INEF Advisory Group (made up of members of the Voluntary and Statutory sectors), the INEF has come together with the Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellor s (IAAAC ), Ana Liffey Drug Project and Coolmine Therapeutic Community to hold an National Drugs Conference in November 2010.

This conference to be held on 4th & 5th November at The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Golden Lane Dublin 8. will include national and international speakers from across the spectrum of service provision and policy arena available within the response to the drugs issue i.e. this is not a Harm Reduction Conference or an Abstinence Based Conference; this is an all inclusive Drugs Conference.

Drug services can and must work together to ensure that people, experiencing problems relating to substance misuse can access the supports they need as efficiently as possible; and future drug policy must reflect this. As such, the theme of this year s conference is A Continuum of Care within Drug Services .

The conference is an excellent opportunity to bring together policy developers and practitioners from right across the drug treatment spectrum and will provide a forum to network and share information , good practice and learning across the substance misuse field.