With Planet Youth set to officially launch on Monday the 7th of October we take a look at some of what's in store for the twenty two post-primary Wicklow schools signed up for this forward-thinking programme.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has published an overview of the trends and developments in drug use across Europe. Despite high availability of drugs across Europe and an increase in problematic polysubstance use EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel believes that their position as Europe's new Drugs Agency strengthens their mandate to respond and improve their drug strategies and interventions. As provider of the Irish data to the report HRB in this article compare the Irish and European drug situations.

With music from John Lynch and Larry Hogan, Denis O'Driscoll hosts International Overdose Awareness Day 2023. Studies and videos are shared from a range of speakers on topics such as living with drug addiction and the grief experiences for drug-related deaths of peers of those in active addiction, the role of the government in providing clear pathways and supports for full recovery and the life saving drug Naloxene.

Dr. Catherine Conlon takes a look at statistics from recent reports and is optimistic that legislations introduced will have a positive effect.

A study carried out by American and Icelandic researchers in Iceland with a sample of over 64,000 13-18 year old reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has had long last impact on substance abuse and mental health.

The East Coast Regional Drugs and Alcohol Task Force (ECRDATF) has been given funding from the Minister’s Initiative for this region under arrangements agreed by the Department of Health and the HSE. The condition for this scheme is that it is open to groups and agencies to apply to support and enhance community services which address drug and alcohol misuse in local communities.