New Department of National Drug Control head Caron Assan has called for more resources to tackle addiction problems.

The plea comes after new statistics indicate cocaine and heroin use are on the up.

Tests done on new prisoners last year showed heroin use had doubled while cocaine use has increased 20 percent.

Ms Assan said there was a need for an increase in on-island counsellors to cope with demand.

She said there were now 18 addictions counsellors spread over five facilities but there was a need for another dozen.

"It's crucial to continually provide the service."

Ms Assan added: "One of the major problems is insufficient bed space for treating persons with substance abuse problems."

There's a plan for 40 beds in Dockyard but that won't be ready until 2009.

More accommodation for those easing themselves back into society after treatment is also needed. Units for up to ten people in Southampton should be ready in early 2008.

She said not everyone needed a bed, some needed only outpatient care and in some cases it was better to send people overseas.

But she added: "The message I want to get out there is that there is treatment in Bermuda." She said too many people had the wrong impression there was nothing available here.

"Yes, there is treatment in Bermuda, yes it does work."

The Department of National Drug Control (DNDC) is also looking to beef up its prevention strategy.

The DNDC said it planned to aid demand reduction of drugs and will hold partners accountable with performance evaluations.

For instance if an agency was hired to run an anti-drug programme in schools, funding would hang on attendance and a demonstration children had taken on the message.

A lot of work is now being done on working out what factors pushed people towards drugs and what could be done to lessen that risk. Risk factors include abuse in the family, peer pressure and learning disabilities.

Protective factors against people lapsing into drugs include parental guidance, spirituality and positive activities such as sport, music and drama.

"When children have mental health issues which are undetected and untreated such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) issues that is a risk factor," said Ms Assan who began as acting director for the DNDC in February and was appointed officially in August.

Ms Assan started in the drug treatment business a decade ago as executive director at Fair Havens, the now defunct residential drug treatment centre for women, before joining Government where she had spells with the Central Policy Unit working as a policy analyst.

Successful recovery meant identifying factors which might have lead to drug abuse – including sexual abuse and mental problems and peer pressure, said Ms Assan.

"Treatment is more than just going into a rehab centre – it is about family commitment and assistance, community involvement, employment opportunities and the spiritual development of a person." With all those things in a person's favour an addict will likely break free said Ms Assan.

But she cautioned: "In Bermuda it is very difficult to get away from your past so the level of commitment they need once they are recovering is really a lot."

Amid the fears about hard drugs Ms Assan said it was important to realise the damage done by alcohol abuse.

The DNDC would like a law requiring vendors to have display ads pointing out the harmful effects of alcohol where it was sold.

Policy Analyst Ken-Garfield Douglas said such warnings were common in North America and the Caribbean.

And Mrs. Assan said: "Alcoholism is as much a disease as any other form of drug addiction. Bermuda needs to know that. It's been around in Bermuda for ever. Everyone can tell you about an aunt or an uncle who drank. It's a real serious problem in Bermuda."

She said a lot drinkers were trying to dull emotional pain or an underlying mental health problem.

"You have to ensure treatment on both fronts. Someone who has schizophrenia who might be drinking to calm the voices - you can't just take the drink away and leave the voices rampant. They are going to start drinking again or look for something which might even be harder.

"We also know a lot of persons - both male and female - have suffered sexual abuse. They might then hook up with a peer group which is smoking marijuana and feel what they experienced they can put aside - they begin to smoke regularly.

"We recognise once we reduce the substance abuse problem, the person is a whole person, you can be guaranteed that other problems are going to come out so the treatment arena has to be prepared to make sure that person gets the other forms of treatment that are required."

The DNDC is now working on a five-year plan to reduce drugs is being worked on but no specific target has yet been set. It will be set two years into the programme. Dr. Douglas said Bermuda's drug problem wasn't insurmountable and the World Drug report from 2007 showed major strides had been made in curbing drug supply.