Almost 9,500 people received opioid substitute medication from a community pharmacy in the first 11 months of 2022.
An increase in the amount of people treated for drug addiction does not necessarily mean an increase in drug users according to a midlands drugs awareness group.
Over 1,400 more people were treated for heroin addiction last year than five years earlier.
Almost 9,500 people received opioid substitute medication from a community pharmacy in the first 11 months of 2022.
That compares to less than 8,100 in 2017, according to freedom of information files.
Jim Henson from Athlone Drugs Awareness Group says the stigma around drug treatment is finally being broken down:
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