Eleven babies born last year had drug withdrawal symptoms, the National Focal Point on Drugs and Drug Addiction has reported.

In a report published today, it said that last year, 53% of people who were treated for the first time had children, with 52% being parents to one child and 32% being parents to two children. A total of 81% of these parents were men. Of these first treated drug using parents, 67% reported making use of heroin, while 21% reported the use of cocaine, and 4% made use of cannabis.

Last year, a total number of 36 care orders were issued, with 24 of these children having drug using parents.

(When care orders are issued, children are moved to the care of somebody other than the parents)

63 children of drug-using parents were fostered, out of a total of 212 foster placements.

During 2010, 15 women who attended the Substance Misuse Outpatient Unit were pregnant. Of these , two suffered a miscarriage, while 13 delivered healthy babies. A total of 11 newborn babies needed opioid replacement treatment after birth because of withdrawal symptoms.

The Maltese National Focal Point on Drugs and Drug Addiction, within the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family, is the national agency responsible for compiling data and producing the annual National Report on the drugs situation in Malta.

It reported that in 2010, 1,936 individuals attended one or more of the available drug services in Malta. Among all those treated, 80% of all clients were in treatment related to heroin use, while 11% had cocaine related problems. Another 6% accessed treatment because of their cannabis use.

Injecting drug users were reported at 35% of the service using population, a decrease of 11% compared to 46% reported in 2009. in Europe, 41% of opioid users report injecting as their route of administration.

Of the total number of individuals who attended drug related services, 313 were reported to have used services for the first time ever. Among this group, 56% reported heroin to be their primary drug of use, while 24% and 14% respectively, reported being in treatment because of their cocaine and cannabis use. 12% reported to be current drug injectors, which was down sharply from 29% in the previous year.

Drug related deaths in Malta were low compared to other European countries. in 2010, five deaths  related to drug overdose were reported. in the last 14 years Malta has reported an average of 7 drug overdose deaths every year.

A total of 224 non-fatal drug overdoses were reported in 2010, with 26% of these cases being related to illicit drugs.

The incidence of HIV infection among the drug using population in Malta remained low, with no new infections being reported in 2010. during the same year, two individuals were reported to be infected with Hepatitis B whilst 54 clients tested positive for Hepatitis C. Among the first treated clients, no new cases of Hep C infection were reported.

During 2010, a total of 506 arrests related to drugs were made. A total 0f 445 arraignments took place, of which 285 were for possession of drugs while the remaining 160 were for trafficking offences.

Of those charged for drug related offences, 84% were men. the great majority of individuals charged (72%) were Maltese. 85% were between the age of 15 and 30.

A total of 293 drug finds were made in 2010, an increase of 22% over 2009.

Out of the 731 individuals jailed at Corradino Correctional Facility, 30% tested positive for drugs on admission. A total of 37% of those admitted were sentenced for drug related offences. A total of 102 inmates received methadone treatment while in prison.

Drug addiction and alcoholism among people affected by schizophrenia is emerging as a significant problem among the agencies that are involved in treating the condition of schizophrenia.

Families who have members that are mentally ill are generally compounded by problems of substance abuse. Unfortunately, not many mental health services will be ready to handle cases with schizophrenia substance abuse. This becomes a matter of dual diagnosis; and the picture of dual diagnosis isn’t a very positive one at this given point in time. In most cases, only one of the two conditions might get identified. In the rare cases where both get identified, the patient might be bounced back and forth between two services where he/she might be treated for these conditions separately.

Research has been (and is being) conducted to throw light on the state of these mentally ill individuals. As per most of these studies, almost 50% of the population that is suffering from schizophrenia and other such mental illnesses will be dealing with a substance abuse problem as well. In most cases, alcohol is used frequently. Alcohol is followed by marijuana and cocaine.

The incidence of this sort of abuse is seen to be greater amongst the males; and most of them fell into the age bracket of 18 to 44.

In most cases, these individuals covertly used the drugs, without letting their caregivers know. Given the fact that their normal mode of behavior was also similar to that of being drug-induced, there were high chances of the caregivers missing symptoms of schizophrenia substance abuse.

The Drawback:

Schizophrenia substance abuse might the treatment for the person’s schizophrenia less effective. Drugs like marijuana might end up making the symptoms worse. Research has also found that there is an evident link between schizophrenic symptoms and marijuana. Moreover, people who abuse themselves with drugs are less likely to follow a treatment plan.

Smoking and Schizophrenia:

Addiction to nicotine is another common form of substance abuse among people who suffer from schizophrenia. they are said to be addicted to nicotine at almost three times the rates of the general population. the numbers stand at 75% to 90% with schizophrenia, as opposed to 25% to 30% without schizophrenia.

There is a complex relationship between the existence of smoking and schizophrenia. Schizophrenics claim that they have an incessant urge to smoke; and owing to this confession, researchers are investigating the biological basis for such an urge. Smoking, too, is known to affect the effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs.

Withdrawal symptoms, in the case of people suffering from schizophrenia, might be even worse. Nicotine replacement therapies might do better than expecting them to quit cold turkey.