Threefold increase in cocaine-users seeking help
More than three times as many people are now seeking help for problems with cocaine than in the late 1990s, a report revealed today.
The lethal effects of the highly addictive drug are also spreading through every section of society in all parts of the country.
It is mainly young adults who are using, with the 15-to-34 age group most likely to take the drug.
Dr Des Corrigan, chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, explained the health problems caused by cocaine, including damage to vital organs the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys.
Intravenous cocaine use causes abscesses, clots, and a range of infections like HIV and Hepatitis B and C, he warned.
Mental health is also badly damaged with cocaine inducing depression, anxiety, agitation, compulsive behaviour, paranoia and aggression.
Dr Corrigan said the toxic effects of cocaine are heightened when it is combined with alcohol.
The report compiled for the Government using crime, health and welfare warned while cocaine was everywhere some communities are being disproportionately affected.
Dr Corrigan warned it is difficult to determine if there has been a significant increase in drug use nationally.
Noel Ahern, the minister responsible for the National Drugs Strategy, warned the risks from cocaine use are extremely high.
“The physical and mental health problems that arise from the use of cocaine are alarming,” he said.
According to drug-treatment data the numbers seeking treatment for cocaine use have increased exponentially between 1998 and 2003.
Over the five years the number of people reporting cocaine as the primary problem drug increased threefold and there was a four-fold increase in those with cocaine as the secondary problem.
Data from An Garda Síochána showed an increase in the number of cocaine-related offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act from 180 in 2000 to 1,224 in 2005.
Both Garda and Customs & Excise records showed an increase in the number of cocaine seizures.
Gardaí made 206 seizures in 2000 but that more than trebled to 968 in 2005. Meanwhile customs saw an increase in drug finds from 12 in 2000 to 67 in 2004.
Internationally it is accepted that law enforcement agencies only recover one tenth of the drugs for sale.
Data from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, based on road safety tests, also indicated an increase in cocaine positive tests up to 2005.
Hospital in-patient inquiry data showed the number of incidences of cocaine-related diagnosis increased from 54 in 2000 to 222 in 2004.
Mr Ahern warned addicts are not the only ones at risk. Weekend users can run into trouble.
“It is perceived that there is a significant hidden population of so-called ’recreational cocaine users’ who do not see themselves as having a problem,” he said.
“However, many of these are likely to develop health problems in the longer term and it is important to get credible and unambiguous health-promotion and harm-reduction messages to this group.”
Dr Des Corrigan, chairman of the NACD, warned many heroin users are now also using cocaine and that poly-drug-use is becoming increasingly common.
“What makes this report different to 2003 is the extent of information available to us on the impact of cocaine in the community,” Dr Corrigan said.
The report included 13 recommendations, focusing on treatment, but also urging more action to combat supply and encourage prevention and research.
The report, An Overview Of Cocaine Use In Ireland II, was prepared by the NACD and the National Drugs Strategy Team.
