Drug info - €500,000 worth of cocaine siezed in Cork, Ireland

[D.U.M.B]

Taken from http://breakingnews.iol.ie

Pair held after drugs raid
15/11/2006 - 00:08:18

A man and a woman are being questioned by detectives after a major drugs seizure in Co Cork.

The pair were arrested in Fermoy after being stopped at a garda checkpoint at 9.30pm.

Officers searched the car they were travelling in and discovered six kilos of cocaine, estimated to have a street value of up to €500,000.

The drugs had been sent for forensic analysis, said Sgt Brendan Costello.

The man, in his 40s, and the woman, in her 20s, are being detained at Fermoy Garda Station under Section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act.

Under the legislation they can be held for up to seven days.

The checkpoint was set up as part of Operation Anvil, which was launched by gardai last year to target gangland activity and gun crime.

[Nature Boy]

Those two are done for by the looks of it. Wonder what the quality was like. Probably glassy crap cut to shit.

[Abrad]

www.breakingnews.ie
Young Irish adults are among the heaviest users of cocaine in Europe, a major report published today reveals.

The survey showing drug prices are now cheaper than ever before across the continent highlights Ireland as one of the countries showing visible signs of a cocaine problem.

The drug now ranks ahead of speed and ecstasy as Europes most popular illegal substance after cannabis, according to the annual report of the EU drugs agency.

The Lisbon-based centre identified Ireland, along with the Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands, as among the main areas of concern for cocaine use.

Around 2% of young Irish people aged between 15 and 34 years had used the drugs last year, it said. The highest rates, at 4%, were in the UK and Spain.

It also recorded that between 5% and 10% of people coming forward for drug treatment in Ireland were seeking care for cocaine abuse.

Across Europe, cocaine-related treatment has doubled between 1999 and 2004 with around 12% of all demands for drug treatment now related to the drug.But as yet there is little consensus on what constitutes appropriate treatment for cocaine and crack cocaine problems, the report warned.

The latest provisional figures from gardai put seizures of the drug at 14m this year so far, compared to 16m for all of 2005.

Garda� expect the amount of cocaine seized by the end of this year will easily surpass recoveries made last year.

At the launch of todays report at the European Parliament in Brussels, the EU drugs agency also warned that information on cocaine-related deaths was poor.

It expressed concerns about the under-reporting of such deaths as well as the potential of the drug to aggravate existing heart problems.

There were also renewed fears about the spread of disease through the use of needles by injecting drug users.

While the prevalence of HIV infection remained low among needle users there was a high number of reported Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections.

[MrG]

Anyone for jokes about "The Craic" ?

[Lunar Loops]

Originally Posted by MrG

Anyone for jokes about "The Craic" ?

Wasn't it 90 kilos from the Isle of Man? OK, I'll get my coat.

[levdog]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

Those two are done for by the looks of it. Wonder what the quality was like. Probably glassy crap cut to shit.

Obviously You Dont Go To Ireland Mutch

Reputation Comments on this post:

Sorry, what's the point in this post?

[darawk]

$500,000? I don't think so...A gram around here costs $50. Even if that price were expanded to 60 kilos, it'd only be $300,000. But when buying 6 kilos at a time, it wouldn't cost anywhere near that much.

Under the legislation they can be held for up to seven days.

Huh? They are caught with 6 kilos of coke but can only be held for 7 days? Why?

[Nature Boy]

Street value means the entire amount of money that will pass through all dealers' hands over the specified amount of narcotics. It doesn't necessarily equal what one person would sell the amount for. Either way, the figure is still inaccurate and exaggerated no doubt in order to force a heavy conviction.

[Lunar Loops]

Originally Posted by Nature Boy

Street value means the entire amount of money that will pass through all dealers' hands over the specified amount of narcotics. It doesn't necessarily equal what one person would sell the amount for. Either way, the figure is still inaccurate and exaggerated no doubt in order to force a heavy conviction.

Well that and an attempt to bolster the opinion that 'great' victories in the war on drugs are being made. It is not futile and the gardai are likely to catch anyone handling illicit substances......another feather in the narcissistic nest of McTool. Sure don't you know he believes his own hype?

[_caesar_]

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/stor...98&p=zx65643x4

Tests find traces of cocaine on all euros tested in Dublin
09/01/2007 - 12:58:05


Traces of cocaine have been found on bank notes in circulation across Dublin, a shocking study revealed today.
Researchers analysing the detection of illicit drugs found cocaine on 100% of notes tested in the capital, compared to just 65% of dollar notes in the US.
Of the 45 sample notes analysed – which included €5, €10, €20 and €50 denominations – all were contaminated with cocaine.
Three also showed the presence of heroin.
Researchers found 62% of notes were contaminated with levels of cocaine at concentrations greater than 2 nanograms/note, with 5% of the notes showing levels greater than 100 times higher, indicating suspected direct use of the note in either drug dealing or drug inhalation.
The highest amounts of cocaine residues were found on €20 and €50 bank notes, as compared to €5 and €10.
The remainder of the notes showed only ultra-trace quantities of cocaine, most probably as the result of contact with other contaminated notes, which could have occurred within bank counting machines or from other contaminated surfaces.
The study was carried out by PhD student, Jonathan Bones, working under the supervision of Professor Brett Paull at Dublin City University’s National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR), which specialises in sensor technology used in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and other industrial applications.
“This is the largest sample of notes ever used in an experiment of this kind in Ireland,” said Mr Bones.
“A larger number of notes would give a more representative view of cocaine use in our society, but the number used is sufficient from which to draw conclusions.
“The most recent survey carried out in the US showed 65% of dollar notes were contaminated with cocaine.
“However, the 100% rate uncovered in this project was surprising. Although not a quantitative measure, the presence of illicit substances on banknotes in general circulation provides an indication of the degree to which substances are being used by the community“.
Contamination can occur whenever direct contact between the note and the drug takes place, either through the common practice of ’snorting’ through a rolled-up banknote, as a result of transfer during drug dealing or through the cross-contamination of notes during the counting process in financial institutions.
Using a technique involving chromatography/mass spectrometry, a sample of 45 bank notes were used to show the level of contamination by cocaine.
The cotton structure of the euro bank notes absorbs chemical residues, making it relatively easy to analyse.
“The greatest advantage to using money as the test matrix is that it is readily available, non-invasive, anonymous and relatively safe to work with,” added Professor Paull.
“Further research would need to be carried out to provide a more accurate picture of the scope of cocaine and heroin use in Ireland today.”
The research was funded by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.

[Lunar Loops]

Yes, I heard about this study. Whilst not surprised by the results, I wonder how any 'real' conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample size.

[Jatelka]

Please remember that news stories about a particular drug should go in that forum. This rightly belongs in "Cocaine and Crack".

Reputation Comments on this post:

Ah, ok thanks for clearing that up....thought this was the "article" section in general...

[MadShroomer]

Originally Posted by Jatelka

Please remember that news stories about a particular drug should go in that forum. This rightly belongs in "Cocaine and Crack".

Ah thank you for clearing some confusion as to where I should post an article about a particular psychoactive. I was like, "We'll it says 'news about drugs' but it also says 'doesn't fit anywhere else' and this DOES fit..." ok yeh Thanks

[MrG]

This paragraph was at the bottom of the bbs news website version of the story:

"One newspaper editorial said that the trend of cocaine use showed that there is something rotten at the heart of Ireland's economic boom."

See this as an example of how spin can be put on a story without any supporting facts whatsover. Even the supposedly objective BBC likes to be able to quote sources in order to make it sound as if they are reporting a factual link between these findings and Ireland's economy.

As another example of distortion of truth through association see:

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27010


Expect to see numerous tabloid headlines about how the Irish are all on coke (no doubt there *will* be puns made with the word "crack")

[Alfa]

The cocaine scourge: road deaths, crime, hospital chaos
JODY CORCORAN
EXCLUSIVE

A CONFIDENTIAL Government report has directly linked the soaring levels of cocaine use in Ireland to the political issues which are likely to decide the outcome of the General Election.
The report, seen by the Sunday Independent, lays bare the startling reality that cocaine use is rife across the country, particularly in Dublin and Cork.

As a direct result, crime rates are increasing, hospital in-patient departments are struggling to cope, and young motorists are dying.

These are the key issues which have concerned voters for several years. A common factor - the massive increase in cocaine use here - has never been publicly identified until now.

The preliminary report was drafted in August and presented to the Cabinet late last year. It reveals that Garda data shows a 10-fold increase in cocaine-related crime between 2000 and 2005. It discloses a four-fold increase in hospital inpatient statistics linked to the drug. The State Laboratory has reported a two-fold increase in the number of cocaine positive samples detected in post-mortems. And road safety tests also indicate an increase in positive results.
Yet, the report points out, cocaine use is largely recreational and consumed in social settings leading to "concerns that the drug is perceived not only to be socially acceptable but also harmless".

A Sunday Independent telephone poll yesterday found 75 per cent believed gardai should raid the homes of the affluent where it is believed, in some cases, cocaine use in a regular occurrence.
The Government report states that cocaine is damaging people of all ages, particularly young men. It is being used across all social strata, and is wreaking havoc in communities everywhere, "contributing to an escalation of fear and intimidation".
The first Drug Prevalence Survey in Ireland and Northern Ireland was carried out in 2002/2003 among the 15-64 year age group.

The results indicated that cocaine use was on the rise. This was a cause of concern for experts in the field at the time. Now their fears are being realised.
The second all-island survey of drug use is under way. It is being undertaken by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and the Drugs and Alcohol Information and Research Unit (DAIRU) in Northern Ireland.
Last August, in a briefing paper to Noel Ahern, Minister of State with responsibility for the Government's drugs strategy, the joint study said: "all indicators point to an increased use of cocaine".
It says it is now a "nationwide issue", but most prominent in the Greater Dublin area, South-East and South with young people aged 15-34 a key risk group.

It finds there are three types of users, including recreational or weekend users, which is the "most difficult group to engage" with.
The report states that there are "serious consequences" for individuals and communities. It states that indicators "consistently point to an increasing prevalence of cocaine in this decade."
It reveals that:
* Garda data shows an increase in the number of cocaine-related offences from 180 in 2000 to 1,224 in 2005.
* Both Garda and Customs & Excise figures shows an increase in the number of seizures, from 206 in 2000 to 968 in 2005 (by gardai), and from 12 in 2000 to 67 in 2004 (by Customs & Excise).
* The State Laboratory has seen an almost two-fold increase between the number of cocaine positive samples detected in post-mortems between 2000 and 2005.

* The Medical Bureau of Road Safety has found that road safety tests also indicate an "increase in positive tests".
* The number of incidences of cocaine-related diagnosis in hospitals increased from 54 in 2000 to 222 in 2004.
* Hospital Inpatient Enquiry Data show that the number of individuals within the range of the Health Service Executive areas testing positive for cocaine has risen from 1,140 (12.6 per cent) in 2000 to 2,330 (27.7 per cent) in 2005.
* The Drug Treatment Centre Board at Trinity Court, Dublin has reported the number of new cases seeking treatment for cocaine use has increased, either as a primary (from 33 in 2000 to 157 in 2003) or secondary (from 189 in 2000 to 443 in 2003).

All of these information sources agree cocaine commands an "increasing share of drug-related offences, laboratory test results and of hospital treatment intake".
Cocaine use is most prominent in the Greater Dublin Area (47 per cent), however areas to the South East (21 per cent) and South (18 per cent) show "increasing levels of cocaine prevalence as indicated by Garda records". Young men are "over-proportionally" represented.

Yesterday Mr Ahern told the Sunday Independent that while there was "no evidence" that there is an "epidemic" of cocaine use in Ireland, he was "fully aware" of the issue of cocaine in society.
He said he was currently in consultation with the departments and agencies involved on the issues raised and recommendations made in the preliminary report.
"The challenges posed by cocaine use are significant, but I am confident we can meet these challenges through a co-ordinated approach utilising the structures of the National Drugs Strategy," he said.
The report, however, has found that treatment programmes in Ireland are "not designed for stimulant users". The report makes 13 recommendations covering treatment, supply reduction, prevention and research.

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

'You just take one snort of it and you get what you want'

AWELL-HEELED Dublin businessman once explained to me in simple terms the attractions of cocaine, the substance he described as his 'perfect drug'.
"If I'm passing a car showrooms and a I see a Mercedes that I like, I can't wait, I have to go in and buy it there and then," he explained. "Cocaine is just like that, it's not like sitting around for hours drinking, you just take one snort and you get what you want."
Every year huge quantities of cocaine are seized by detectives and customs officers, but it's only a fraction of the amount of coke for sale in Dublin and in almost every other city and town in the country.
But if cocaine is so widely available and so easy to use, why is it the secret drug of Irish society?
So far only three people have publicly admitted taking cocaine. Businessman Ben Dunne confessed to cocaine addiction after an episode in a Florida hotel during a golfing trip with friends, sports commentator Eamon Dunphy complained in a interview that "you can't get good coke in this town" and the journalist Olaf Tyaransen has written about his experiences.
Listening to the chattering classes, you'll hear that some celebrity or his wife is "in rehab" for addiction. Others will name well-known people as "dealers" in certain Dublin nightspots and you'll hear anecdotes that coke has now replaced champagne as the substance of choice for the well-heeled members of legal profession.
And that's before you go near the entertainment industry where drug use has always been endemic.
The use of cocaine is widespread in Ireland, but it is also a drug apart. It has a particular attraction for the high-earning, hard-working, hard-living classes who seek instant gratification.
They're the people who appear to have everything - fine houses, smart car, secure businesses and the little place in the south of France. They're the people, described in a new book, as suffering from "affluenza" - they have everything but that very fact makes them unhappy. And so they turn to drugs.
Easy to carry, easy to use, readily available; it's not like that nasty heroin with its downmarket paraphernalia of blood-filled syringes and seedy dealers selling wrappers in back alleys and side streets.
Cocaine is a bit like cigarettes. Not everybody gets addicted. Users, especially the more discerning, can be "social" coke abusers. They might not actually buy it themselves but they'll take a snort if someone else has it and offers them a line. They take it late at night in an upmarket nightclub or when they're in the privacy of their luxury homes in the leafy suburbs, where security gates and alarms keep out the "real" law-breakers - the burglars and car thieves.
But these users are not addicts and it does not seem to be any more detrimental to their lifestyle than drink.
I remember first encountering cocaine at a wedding many years ago when a beautiful girl kept getting up from the table and disappearing into the toilets. When I remarked that she must have a bad bladder, I was told "you eejit, she's doing coke". And sure enough, when she'd return to the table, she would be animated and bubbly. As the evening wore on, you could see the anxiety return to her eyes and then she'd disappear again.
Only a few weeks ago I saw a similar performance in a restaurant in the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin - but this time I knew exactly what was going on.
Of course, they're not all the upmarket types. In a bar in San Francisco, I saw a couple of young lads snorting lumps of the stuff. "They're 'Connies'," said my companion, meaning they came from Connemara, "it's the nearest thing they can get to poteen." Back in the early Nineties, they were famous users of "sneachta".
For all its social properties, there can be tragic consequences. Last year after a wedding a young couple went back to a south Dublin hotel and along with a final drink, they snorted cocaine. The young man woke up in the morning to find his girlfriend dead in the bed beside him- at which point he jumped out the window and killed himself.
Last week the tragic consequences of cocaine were outlined at an inquest into the death of 35-year-old Elaine O'Sullivan. The young woman from Tivoli Road, Dun Laoghaire had just celebrated her engagement on Christmas Eve with her family. She and her fiance then returned home, cracked open a bottle of champagne and "had a couple of lines of cocaine".
In the early hours of Christmas morning she began to have breathing difficulties, went into a coma and died form a ruptured aneurysm. While the coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said cocaine can elevate blood pressure, it seemed to be a coincidental factor in the woman's death.
What is striking about these cases is that it is only through such tragedies that we learn of the casual use of cocaine in current society. It seems that for many people, it is not so much a drug as simply part of their social lives, like a glass of wine or a beer.
The cocaine on the bank notes is just a small indication of a much bigger social change: most of us will say 'no' if we're asked if we use cocaine, but 'yes' if we're asked if we know someone who has taken it. As the gap narrows, some people believe we're on the road to becoming a cocaine nation.
Liam Collins


Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

Crime, road deaths and hospital chaos: cocaine joins dots
COCAINE use in Ireland has reached crisis point. That much is clear from a report presented to Cabinet late last year. But the realisation that we are in the grip of a national crisis does not yet seem to have registered.
The Minister with responsibility for the Government's drugs strategy, Noel Ahern - who, in fairness, has done a lot of good work - does not accept there is an "epidemic".
But one man's crisis is another man's epidemic.
The report he received last August, and passed to the Cabinet, lays bare the startling reality that cocaine use is rife across the country, particularly in Dublin and Cork. As a direct result, crime rates are soaring, hospital inpatient departments are packed, and young motorists are losing their lives.
These issues have preoccupied the country for years. Yet nobody has joined the dots. Until now.
For the first time, a common factor - the increase in cocaine use here - has been pinpointed.
The report reveals that data compiled by the Garda shows a 10-fold increase in cocaine-related crime between 2000 and 2005. Hospital inpatient statistics show a four-fold increase linked to the drug. The State Laboratory has reported an almost two-fold increase in the number of positive cocaine samples detected in post mortems. Road safety tests also indicate an increase in positive results.
Yet, as the report points out, cocaine use is largely recreational and consumed in social settings, leading to "concerns that the drug is perceived not only to be socially acceptable but also harmless".
As the report, in its deadpan fashion, reveals, use of the drug is damaging people of all ages, particularly young men, across all social strata, and is wreaking havoc in communities everywhere, "contributing to an escalation of fear and intimidation".
So just what is happening? For the first time, here are the facts.
Cocaine is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush which grow primarily in the South America. Here it is available in cocaine powder and crack cocaine.
People use it in various ways. Powder is usually snorted through a straw or a rolled up banknote into the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal passages. It may also be made into a solution and injected directly into the bloodstream on its own or in combination with heroin, known as "speedballing".
Crack cocaine is smokeable, made into small lumps of rocks by washing up the salt with ammonia or mixing it with sodium bicarbonate. It is usually smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil. It gets its name from the cracking sounds the rocks make when burnt. Crack cocaine can also be prepared for injection, by turning it back into salt, normally by mixing it with citric acid.
Cocaine provides a short-lived, intense high. How quickly it hits depends on how the drug is taken, the purity of the drug and how much is consumed. Smoking is the quickest method. Generally, it takes three minutes when snorted, 30 seconds when injected, and only a few seconds when smoked.
Frequency of use varies considerably. Occasional use, typically snorting, is often associated with social activities. Daily use occurs, as does heavy and intermittent use of bingeing. Binges tend to take the form of repeated dosing, often in escalating amounts over a period of hours or days, ending in a crash with exhaustion and depressive symptoms.
As the effects of cocaine are relatively short-lived, this can lead to compulsive patterns, resulting in lack of care and attention to physical well-being.
Alcohol is often taken along with cocaine. When it combines in the system, it forms another drug - cocaethylene - which has similar effects to cocaine but can last longer before being broken down by the body. Cocaethylene is more toxic and can cause more serious physical harm, particularly to the cardiovascular system.
The first Drug Prevalence Survey in Ireland and Northern Ireland was carried out in 2002/2003 among 15-64 year age group.
The results indicated that cocaine use was on the rise. This was a cause of concern for experts in the area at the time. Their fears have now been realised.
The second all-island survey of drug use is under way. It is being undertaken by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and the Drugs and Alcohol Information and Research Unit (DAIRU) in Northern Ireland. The fieldwork is expected to be completed in April, with first reports expected later in the year.
Last August, in a briefing paper to Mr Ahern, the joint study said "all indicators point to an increased use of cocaine".
It says it is now a "nationwide issue", but most prominent in the Greater Dublin area, South-East and South, crossing all social strata, with young people aged 15-34 a key risk group, with males more likely than females.
It finds there are three types of users, including recreational or weekend users, which is the "most difficult group tp engage" with.
The report states that there are "serious consequences" for the individual and for communities.
Regular cocaine use is linked to "severe physical problems including health conditions and strokes, which are common and often fatal". Snorting also damages the nasal passage, and results in nose bleeds, loss of sense of smell and nasal septum perforation. Smoking can cause black phlegm, chest pains, and a variety of respiratory problems. Intravenous use can cause a range of problems from minor skin infection and abscesses to blood clots and kidney failure and is associated with increased injecting-related risk behaviours.
Frequent and/or long term use can have a "powerful" effect of mental health, resulting in a range of conditions from depression, anxiety, agitation, compulsive behaviour and paranoia.
While dependency "is not inevitable for all people", international research indicates that when cocaine dependence does occur it can emerge "quite early and explosively" in the initial years after first cocaine use.
The patterns of bingeing can cause "serious financial problems leading to economic/compulsive crime and/or interpersonal/familial stress." Research illustrates that levels of alcohol use among cocaine/crack users are high.
The levels of both direct andindirect harm varies across and within local communities. Deprived communities and areas with an existing community drug problem are more likely to suffer the consequences.
Unlike heroin, cocaine use in the community is largely recreational and consumed in social settings, according to the report, and leads to "concerns that the drug is perceived not only to be sociallyacceptable but also harmless." Studies highlight "increased levels of fear at community level" and the "perceived undermining of social cohesion".
The report states: "The short-acting effect of cocaine means that individuals can spend large quantities of money bingeing on the drug. There is broad agreement that the link between cocaine use and debt in contributing to an escalation of fear and intimidation in some communities."
The NACD is receiving reports of "cocaine debt-related violence and intimidation at a community level".
Because cocaine/crack use can lead to anxiety and paranoia, this gives rise to offences involving violence, particularly when used with alcohol.
The report states that the co-existence of cocaine and alcohol in the community gives rise to "increased incidences of public nuisance, manifested, for example, in noise pollution, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.
The report concludes that treatment programmes in Ireland are not designed for stimulant users; opiate-based treatment services in Ireland have to deal with "increasing numbers of individuals presenting with cocaine-related problems"; and that there is a "general perception" among both drug treatment service providers and service users that there is "no effective treatment available for problematic cocaine use".
Jody Corcoran


Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

From married-with-kids to party pals, everyone does it

COCAINE is something that makes a regular appearance in my life. At every party, in every pub, in towns and cities, it always pops its sleazy little head up somewhere in the course of the evening.
Be it a night out at a dinner with older, married-with-kids friends or an evening's bar-hopping with younger all-night party pals, it would be unusual if cocaine didn't feature at some stage somewhere along the way.
Here is a random sample of where it has followed me, just in the recent past:

At a pub in the country last weekend, every time I went to the bathroom, and had to wait twice as long as usual as all the cubicles were occupied by giggling, sniffing girls coming in and out in twos and threes, rubbing their noses.
At the home of a 40-something single female friend, who had invited a group of pals around for a night of chat and glasses of wine. And cocaine for anyone who felt like a lift after yet another hard week of trying to achieve that elusive work/life balance.
A friend tells me she and her husband are staying in and having some quiet nights after the excesses of Christmas - just sitting around at the weekend, listening to music and taking coke when the kids are in bed.
At a house party with a group of friends, all in their early thirties, people I thought were good fun but clean-living. Sporty types, hard workers, lovers of life. I don't know why I was so surprised when the cocaine came out early in the night - and plenty of it. Of all the party-goers, the couple who had brought their toddler along with them were the most enthusiastic users, nipping off to a different room to snort it while their child watched TV in the living room.

Even worse, I don't know why I felt like the world's biggest square when I refused the offer of some coke. I found myself making excuses for why I wasn't getting involved, for why I was turning down the chance of free coke, obviously such a generous offer on behalf of the hosts.

Coke-users are usually greedy and keep it all to themselves. I didn't want them to think I was ungrateful, or even worse, I didn't want them to think that I was boring and safe.
These incidents all happened recently. There are more incidents I could detail, but I think you get the picture.
So is it any wonder that a scientific study last week showed that there were traces of cocaine on every banknote in circulation in Ireland?

Granted, the forensic tests were only carried out on a sample of 45 banknotes, but the drug was found on 100 per cent of the random €5, €10, €20 and €50 notes used in the study.
Some were shown to have been used directly to snort the drug, other contained traces of cocaine that had rubbed off from other notes. But all were contaminated.
To get an idea of how significant this is, compare it to a similar study carried out in the US, which revealed that in America, only 65 per cent of dollar bills held traces of coke.
Of course, despite all this, no one here admits to taking cocaine. Only Eamon Dunphy and Olaf Tyaransen will say they have tried it in Ireland, so it seems, and Ben Dunne admits to having taken cocaine in Florida.
But the evidence would indicate otherwise. It is not sensationalist to say we are in the grip of a coke epidemic.
Detective Chief Superintendent Cormac Gordon of the Garda National Drugs Unit once told me that he honestly believed the level of cocaine usage in this country was vastly exaggerated.

But after last week's study, combined with medical statistics which consistently show ever-rising rates ofaddiction, I am not so sure. To get to the root of the problem, we have to question why everyone, from young teenagers, to married couples, to bored housewives, to men in their 50s, have been so entranced by this drug that has become such an ubiquitous part of the Irish night out.
Firstly, cocaine is probably the only Class A drug that is not only acceptable, it is fashionable across the social spectrum. It transcends class and age, and appeals to everyone, from 19-year-olds who hide it from their parents, to their parents who are hiding it from their 19-year-olds.
If you do it, you are perceived as risky, edgy, the kind of person who would do anything in the pursuit of fun. If you don't, then by definition, you are the opposite of all these things. Not only that, but it is perceived to be, in comparison to other drugs, a relatively safe narcotic. You snort it, it gives you a hit for 20 minutes and if you want another hit, you do it again.
There is no chance, like there is with acid or ecstasy, of suffering a bad trip and being stuck in it for hours and hours.
There is no awful comedown the next day as there is with most other drugs. There are no heebie-jeebies or hangover the morning after in the way that there is with alcohol.

It is not physically addictive - although anyone who knows the scene will testify that it is most definitely psychologically addictive.

There is a certain kind of person who falls hard for the charms of cocaine, those who get caught up in the grip of the drug that makes users feel like the funniest, sexiest, most interesting and intelligent person in the world.
Cocaine is a confidence-booster for the insecure, a disinhibitor for the self-conscious.
These are the people who you will see waiting outside at parties for their delivery to come along before venturing inside, the types who cannot and will not go out socially unless they know there will be coke around.
And just as those with low self-esteem are entranced by it, those who say coke has no effect on them are always self-confident personalities with naturally high self-esteem.
Shy people love it.

But there is another aspect to coke that makes it so alluring: the ritual involved in doing it. The act of taking coke is exciting in itself, in the same way drinking shots is exciting.
Just like knocking back a shot, snorting a drug directly up your nose and into your brain has a dangerous edge, a risk-taking aspect and anyone who does it is intent on getting smashed.

There is a secret club appeal to going off in pairs to share it, even if it is on the top of a filthy toilet cistern. In fact, that only adds a sexy, sleazy dimension.

Would it be so much fun if it had to be injected, smoked or popped? Most likely not.
The only thing that can kill off the coke epidemic is its own popularity - it may eventually eat itself. With practically everyone at every party taking cocaine every weekend in this country, maybe it is only a matter of time before too many people start doing it and it becomes uncool again. It's almost boring now.
Unfortunately, for many people who have been caught in its grip, it could be too late.
Larissa Nolan

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

Biggest drug traces found on higher banknotes
THE study conducted by Dublin City University's National Centre for Sensor Research found that 100 per cent of the banknotes tested were contaminated by traces of cocaine.


The study was carried out by Jonathan Bones, 25, and supervised by Professor Brett Paull, using 45 notes of various denominations. The research found that the bigger notes contained much larger traces of cocaine. They were tested against notes which had not been in prior circulation.


Notes of €5, €10, €20 and €50 denominations were included in the study and all 45 notes contained cocaine contamination. The research team also found traces of heroin on three of the notes.


Using a new technique involving chromatography/mass spectrometry, the notes were analysed and compared to clean notes.


The study found 62 per cent of the notes were contaminated with levels of cocaine at concentrations greater than two nanograms per note, meaning the notes were not directly used for snorting cocaine, while five per cent of the notes showed levels greater than 100 times higher. These notes, according to the survey, were used directly for taking the drug.


Critics of the survey have said that the sample of notes used was far too small to give a true picture of cocaine use in Ireland today. However, Jonathan Bones said: "This is the largest sample of notes ever used in an experiment of this kind in Ireland. A larger number of notes would give a more representative view of cocaine use in our society, but the number used is sufficient from which to draw conclusions. The most recent survey carried out in the US showed 65 per cent of dollar notes were contaminated with cocaine. However, the 100 per cent rate uncovered in this project was surprising."


Professor Brett Paull, said, "Further research would need to be carried out to provide a more accurate picture of the scope of cocaine and heroin use in Ireland today."


Daniel McConnell

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

No high-society event now complete without cocaine for the ladies who lunch

COKE is it. And it has been in Ireland for a few years now. The Celtic Tiger is up to its hind legs in snow.
The ultimate drug of Irish capitalism - as you soon as you take it, you want more, more, more - cocaine is the social lubricant of choice at the (literally) high society balls you read about week in, week out in the social columns.

"It has gone from being invisible to being quite visible at these ladies lunches," a source on that scene said. The fact that a study has shown that all the banknotes it tested contained traces of the drug says something about the place of cocaine in current Irish society.

The Pope's Children (and some of his grandchildren) are snow-blind. Catholic guilt has been replaced by cocaine guilt in the new super-wealthy, super-sexy secular modern Ireland.

At posh D4 soirees, the bathroom cubicles will often resonate to a symphony of sniffing. An opera of cokeheads. In reality, it isn't the short-circuit to pleasure that was indulged in by those on a fast track to ruin anymore. There are some major casualties out there (women who lost their looks and their minds to "social drugs") but most can 'manage' their coke use.
"For the richer women, it is not a drug problem because they can contain it and control it. They are not stupid women. They know how to play with their drugs," a source on that scene told me, adding that it invariably isn't the sordid sensationalism the redtop tabloids would have us believe.

"Some groups do their coke in each other's houses. It is a very closed and discreet circle. There are well-known parties with certain businessmen around the town. They are extremely careful. You won't see these guys in the toilets, sticking something up their noses, That is just not their style."

Socially and sexually, the middle-class coke devotees use it as a 'performance-enhancing drug' in the same way athletes use steroids to run faster. They can have caviar for breakfast and oysters for lunch as they fuel themselves on cocaine to keep themselves going. They don't want to stop - in some cases because they are having such a good time, in others because they are pyschologically terrified of the come-down.

There are stories of certain high-society matrons who are semi-functioning quasi-cokeheads taking downers to get them over their latest coke blow.

"The odd women in that circle takes uppers and downers to stabilise themselves and to make it through the week. It is not because they are addicted - they're not - it is just to get it out of their system," I was told.
The weight loss and the lack of appetite that comes with coke use is, of course, a huge bonus to the ladies who white lunch too.

"What women, especially a middle-aged women, doesn't want to be skinny?" said one person.
At most social balls in Dublin, there will usually be enough cocaine in evidence to bring down a herd of elephants. Or a flock of skinny fashionistas in Dolce e Gabbana. When their supplies dip, they use their fashionable state-of-the-art mobile phones to ring their dealers ("Is there anything around?") These collagen-injected, rhino plastic-skinned and botoxed Barbie dolls need to boost their dwindling self-esteem with cocaine. It makes the Ballsbridge trophy wife in a bad marriage feel more socially confident.

Super coke-confidence is not always a good thing. It soon becomes snow-blind mania.
"What is very scary is that you start to feel too confident and you start to feel indispensable," [and violent?] Naomi Campbell once said. It is them feel like those sophisticated self-absorbed beauties with the world at their Gucci heels in a Helmut Newton photograph.

There is a theory that stressed-out international fashion models use coke - like truck drivers use coffee - to stay awake and keep working. It is much less prevalent among the Irish models, however. That is not to say it doesn't exist. It does. Several of Ireland's models are well-known for powdering their pert noses. It sad that these beautiful women, to paraphrase Oasis, are chained to the mirror and the razor blade.

One source told me of a recent weekend night: "I knew by [a top Irish model]'s face and movements that she was out of it on cocaine. I knew straight away by the way she was drinking. She was pouring the vodka into the champagne and knocking it back. That's coke behaviour."

Of course, fashion has a history of drug imagery, (memo this to Kate Moss): Dior has a perfume called Addict, Calvin Klein produces Crave and Yves Saint Laurent the scent Opium. In 1998, designer Andrew Groves produced a show called Cocaine Nights that featured a dress made of razor blades and a catwalk strewn with white powder.
For the monied D4 jetset, there is always another white powder party to go to, another ball to get bombed at, another excuse not to go home, to stay out with some impressionable young thing they're acquired along the way. For them, cocaine is a failure of reality and a triumph of another night out on Colombian marching powder.

"There's a high-profile mover and shaker - a very glamorous and happily married woman - I know who restricts her cocaine binge to once a month. One night every month she'll hit the clubs with a group of close pals armed with two grams of coke. It seems to be her monthly 'mad' night out and whether it's her way of relieving stress or just something that's become a habit, it's something she truthfully appears to look forward to," Social & Personal publisher PJ Gibbons told me. The magazine rang a front cover issue on coke last mag called 'High Society'.

These rich women have cleaning women who do their hoovering at home while they are out hoovering up the Devil's Dandruff on the marble table of that week's ball with their friends.
Like clockwork, they will go together into the marble-floored toilet cubicles. These glamorous gangs will lay out their wraps before powdering their noses together. Lorrying into the white stuff in the toilet of a five-star may be not dignified but it is practically de rigueur.

"It is so widespread, you wouldn't believe it," said someone on that scene.
"They will be in there for half an hour. Some of them, when they come out, will still have flakes of cocaine on their noses. It is a mad panic to fix themselves before they get back to the table," another source told me.
"They can afford the best cocaine. And no one is going to say anything about these women because their partners are too powerful. You can spot those who are on something a mile away. They don't make a secret of it but no one dares speak about it.

"It is not like London or New York where you can run around town and be anonymous. Everybody knows everybody in Dublin. And everybody knows everybody's else business. So there is huge secrecy among that crowd. A person would be immediately ostracised from this wealthy and influential circle if they spoke out. Their mega-rich husbands do it as much as their wives, so there is a lot to lose if names ever got out or if anyone ever talked.
"The men do it much more discreetly. You would never see them coming out of a toilet in a Ballsbridge hotel. They operate at a much higher level."

"My close pals socially will have nothing to do with it," said PJ Gibbons, "but neither do they look with disdain on those who dabble in the substance. Those who always have a bag of coke in their purse or wallet as they flit from luncheon to launch party rarely find themselves on the receiving end of a lecture about how they're destroying their lives."

He added that in social circles it's viewed as a personal choice and most people are of the understanding that if that's what a person on the social scene has chosen as a stimulant, or crutch, to ensure a good night out, then so be it.
"There are a couple of acquaintances of mine who happen to be very well-known on the Dublin social scene, both of whom are highly regarded in their professions, who will not attend a major social event without having at least one gram of coke in one of their pockets," PJ said.

"It's like when some people say they're just social drinkers or social smokers; there are countless people out there on the scene, some of them household names, who happen to be social cocaine users. In turn, they have close friends who snort coke practically every weekend and they generally socialise together. Everyone knows, but no one is bothered by it.
"Today, for someone to say that they're just popping to the loo for a quick line is as common as someone saying they're going outside for a cigarette. And the reality is that no one blinks an eyelid, perhaps because they are recreational users themselves," PJ Gibbons continues.

"They want to do it to excess. I don't think they realise how harmful coke can be," said another source. "But it has become almost normal." Post prandial coke is almost as staple a part of dinner party etiquette now as the Ferrero Rocher or After Eight mints.

The chattering classes are chattering faster because they're on coke. Unbeknownst to themselves, cokeheads talk a lot of shite; but in very quick sentences and in a hyper manner as if dispensing some all-important wisdom that needs to be heard before time runs out. It is really before the coke runs out.

There is a story of a famous Irish Bohemian who had done so much white powder at his own dinner party that he knocked back a vintage bottle of wine in one go, like it was lemonade on a hot summer's day, in front of his horrified guests.
There are one or two Irish rock stars, restaurateurs, Bohemians, rock managers, famous wives, solicitors, models who manage their drug consumption very well. Some will go through their cocaine phase and move back to their old lives. Others never will. These deluded dullards will talk about cocaine like it was holistic or spiritual - even when their nose is about to fall off in the car park of the Ice Bar.

There are no mysterious truths - they don't find any glittering and concealed rewards at the end of the cocaine rainbow. Only nosebleeds, paranoia and depression.

Barry Egan

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

Coke confessions of a singer who has seen and done it all
THIS well-established Irish singer has seen and done it all. This singer has a troubled history with cocaine but is still really shocked at how readily available and accessible the narcotic is in Ireland today.

"I was introduced to coke at the age of 28 by my friend from London, who simply said 'come on, try this', so as a naive sod, I did. Now it's bloody everywhere, you have teenagers on the stuff. Kids in schools know more about the stuff than I ever did at their age, and are doing it themselves. It's scary shit."

The singer, who asked to remain anonymous, said many leading Dublin nightclubs are awash with cocaine and have been for years.
"When we were on it, you could walk in to one of Dublin's top nightclubs and ask for a particular brand of champagne. And if you paid for it with your credit card, you got a gram of coke with it. That's the way it was, and possibly still is. But, now it's not just in the clubs. You could walk into most bars in Temple Bar and find the stuff."

The rise in cocaine and the success of the Irish economy happening side by side is no coincidence, according to the singer, who says the drug is no longer restricted to 'High Society' (in every sense of the phrase), but has been universally embraced by Ireland's middle classes.

"Where there's money, you'll find coke. It's all money, money, money. I've been at weddings recently and there have been constant streams of people going in and out of the toilet all day. One leading band manager missed his step a couple of times coming out of the toilet that day. In fairness, it's always been around the music scene, always, with musicians, agents and journalists all doing the stuff, certainly as long as I'm going. But it seems now you have lawyers, doctors, shopkeepers and road sweepers taking it. It's no longer the reserve of the rich and famous."

Daniel McConnell

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

'Mother's little helper' in the suburbs
THE year after I was born the Rolling Stones released a song called Mother's Little Helper. In it, they sang about the housewives' drug of choice in the Sixties - Valium.

It was Valium that helped the bored housewife cope with repetitive work in the home, the frustration of being taken for granted by husband and children, and the thought that every day she was getting older and nothing was likely to change.

Today's housewives don't surrender to physically addictive 'downers' to get them through the week. That would be very unfeminist of them. Women today are taught not to resign themselves to a life of old age in the suburbs without some sort of fight. Consequently, the drug of choice for today's 'Stepford' ladies is cocaine.

It's a very 21st century choice for women in that it doesn't make them malleable and placid like Valium, rather it curbs their appetite and gives them energy, it's not physically addictive and it was originally supposed to be a drug tailor-made for rich and successful men.

No 'mother's little helper' description for these cocaine users. Using cocaine shows that even though a woman may have had to sacrifice her career to family, she can still party with the best of them.

It has been traditional that on the birth of a child the father will present the mother with a gift to acknowledge the pain and suffering she has endured in producing the baby. Jewellery perhaps or a promise of a weekend away.

Recently though, I was informed by a friend that a 30-something pregnant woman was promised a very large amount of cocaine on the birth of her child. And this wasn't considered odd. This woman was not a pathetic drug-addict forced to give up her habit on becoming pregnant. No, she was a normal middle-class housewife who liked to take cocaine every weekend - along with her other suburban middle-class housewife friends. She was planning a great big cocaine-fuelled night out as soon as she could arrange it. Just what every new mother needs.

Kate Moss, whether she is or isn't married to her junkie boyfriend, is hardly a healthy role model for young mothers, yet she is one of the most popular celebrities in the world today. Having to 'come out' as a coke user was the best thing that ever happened to her career.
Cocaine used to mean a dangerous, hedonistic white powdered drug used only by celebrities and the very rich. As the joke used to go; "taking cocaine is God's way of telling you that you have too much money".
Not any more. Cocaine is so cheap (relatively speaking) and so widely used among the middle classes that it's odd to attend a dinner party where it's not offered along with the cheese board.

"Anyone for a line?" has become as socially acceptable as "Brie or Danish blue?"

In some homes, dinner guests are permitted to snort coke off the place mats while smokers are relegated to the back garden.

It's no surprise that every single bank note tested in a recent investigation had traces of cocaine on it. But when some middle-aged female friends of mine heard about this, they were shocked: "Ugh, all those germs," said one. "You do know that you could get hepatitis C from sharing banknotes while snorting coke?"

"It's disgusting," answered the other. "In future I'm going to carry plastic disposable straws around with me. That way I won't have to use such 'dirty money'."

"A bit like a heroin addict uses disposable needles to avoid getting Aids," I suggested. They were not amused. Seemingly heroin is a 'proper bad drug' only used by poverty-stricken losers or mentally challenged rock stars.
"What's cocaine then?" I ask. "A safe social lubricant," I'm told. "A relatively 'harmless' way to get the Friday night party going after a tough week."
And I know that many of my older female acquaintances use it at parties to help them get into the conversation, to give them confidence, not just with other men but particularly with other women. For well-off mothers who spend Monday to Friday caring for children and running the home, the prospect of a few lines of coke at the weekend is what gets them through the week.

Irish society today has little or no respect for stay-at-home mothers. When these women go out to socialise with old friends who are now working in advertising, the media or PR, they feel intimidated by the glamour and business talk that they used to be a part of.

Accepting the cocaine that they are inevitably offered makes them feel part of the crowd again. It makes them feel young again, smart and attractive with something to say.

Taking coke may be 'fun' but it's not entirely harmless fun. The recent spate of shootings and murders can pretty much be laid at the door of the cocaine industry. That's not just the nasty, uncouth, violent drug dealer; it's the gorgeous wealthy suburban housewife and her well-connected husband. Some people just love to live dangerously.

No one I spoke to while researching this piece would allow me to name them. Officially we have about three cocaine users in the entire country.
Even though they are happy to take coke in front of their peers on a Friday night, few will admit to using it on a Monday morning. Cocaine has made hypocrites of us all.

Carol Hunt

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Alfa]

Trendy image belies reality of rude, sniffing guests, all swagger and bull

POWDERING your nose takes on a whole new meaning nowadays. Last Saturday night in a Dublin city centre hotel bar, as I emerged from the toilet and proceeded to wash my hands, I heard two girls giggling and shuffling in a cubicle. My immediate assumption was that they were doing coke. This didn't shock me because it is a scene that anyone is liable to witness anytime, anywhere.

However, despite their vampish attire and heavily made-up faces, the two girls who emerged from the cubicle revelling in their snow-blind wilderness, couldn't have been older than 19. Peering at themselves in the mirror, they made piggish faces as they scrunched their noses and sniffed repeatedly to make sure they had hoovered up all remnants.

As a 22-year-old who has never dabbled in cocaine, I can say without a hint of hesitation that I am in a minority. As someone who socialises quite regularly, I can see the extent to which cocaine is engulfing Irish society - every village, small town and city is awash with the drug. Everybody, from cleaners to solicitors, is dabbling in cocaine. Its use is tolerated and for many people, it is considered no more of a crime than talking on their mobile phone while driving. Walk into any pub on any given night, drag your finger along the toilet cistern and you are sure to find traces of this omnipresent white powder.
For increasing numbers of people my own age, the drug has graduated from weekend recreation to daily staple - with many enjoying white nights, every night. A potent combination of image, supposed quality and lower prices has helped fuel its soaring popularity.

On another recent night out, a girl, clearly off her head, audaciously snorted a line off the sink, in full view of everyone in the toilets. A group discussed their 'stash' as they queued and waited for the previous group to emerge, sniffling and red-eyed, from the cubicle.

I have witnessed coked-up men start vicious fights and a girl whose nose bled for hours following a cocaine marathon. What started out as a little dabbling has turned into a full-blown habit and she is powerless under charlie's spell.
A friend recently told me about people who arrived to a mid-week dinner party absolutely off their heads - they were rude, obnoxious, and exited to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

Contrary to its public image, cocaine is the most socially destructive drug. At parties, it is very frustrating when people are hotfooting it to the toilet to get their fix.

From a female perspective, you always know when a man is on cocaine. He takes on this superhuman persona as he approaches - all swagger, no substance, talking absolute tripe. He takes it for granted that you will accept his advances and is visibly surprised and vocally horrified when you resist.

I regularly hear cocaine-users extol the virtues of the drug, many of which, they claim include "speed", "thrills", and "glamour". I remember one man telling me how it gave him an uncharacteristic sense of confidence, made him more gregarious and more sexual. Furthermore, I encountered a girl who oscillated between casual to calamitous cocaine use purely to keep her size 8 figure intact.

Ireland has one of the highest rates of cocaine use among young adults in Europe. I know people who choose their venue for an evening's socialising based on the quality of the toilet, and this is not because some toilets have softer loo roll than others
In an attempt to deter cocaine fiends, many pubs are putting an invisible film over toilets and basins which absorbs the cocaine and turns it into a congealed mess. Alternatively, many toilets are fitted with grated cisterns - making snorting almost impossible.

Make no mistake about it; cocaine is more widely available and more widely abused in Ireland than at any time in the past. In fact, cocaine use is as easy to happen upon in your local as it is in a trendy Dublin pub and many people claim that it has become easier to get hold of this Class A drug than to find Class C drugs such as hash.
But while these bright young things are hoovering up lines of the stuff, do they ever stop to consider that their actions are directly contributing to brutal gangland warfare, or that they are lining the pockets of some of the biggest scumbags in this country?

Next time you go to snort your next line, consider the possibility that the money you have spent on this short high might be used to buy the gun which will kill another civilian on our streets. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Andrea Byrne

Irish Independent 14 january 2007

[Nature Boy]

Good collection of articles there Alfa. It seems the media are having an absolute field day now that the results of that recent banknote study are out. The well-known right-wing paper the Irish Independent have focused on this more than any other paper. Several opinion articles and not one that didn't seem biased. Guilt articles about feeding crime by buying cocaine and not one mention of a viable solution such as legalisation. Hardly fair and balanced or maybe they just don't have a clue about the situation. SWIM actually bought that shitty paper today just to kill boredom.

[Lunar Loops]

Now this from the National Advisory Committee on drugs (http://www.ndc.hrb.ie/directory/news...3426&pointer=0) :

An overview of cocaine use in Ireland: II
Publisher:'An overview of cocaine use in Ireland: II': National Advisory Committee on Drugs 08 Mar 2007

This NACD publication reports that all indicators show cocaine use is continuing to increase across all sections of society and all areas of the country. They recommend that services for cocaine users need to become more visible.

NACD press release:

The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) has today said that services for cocaine users need to become more visible. Speaking at the launch of An Overview of Cocaine Use in Ireland II, NACD Chairperson, Dr Des Corrigan, said that all the indicators point to a continued increase in cocaine use and that this cocaine use crosses all sections of Irish society. However, whilst the impact is very much experienced nationwide, some communities are disproportionately affected.

An Overview of Cocaine Use in Ireland II looks at cocaine use in relation to its prevalence, prevention and treatment, as well as the consequences of its use in Ireland. The report was prepared jointly by the NACD and the National Drugs Strategy Team (NDST) on foot of a request from Government in late 2005, concerned with the growth of cocaine abuse in all sections of Irish society.

The increasing prevalence of cocaine in Ireland was revealed through examination of a range of indicators:

Drug treatment data show the numbers seeking treatment for cocaine use have increased exponentially between 1998 and 2003, with a three-fold increase in those with cocaine as the primary problem and a four-fold increase in those with cocaine as the secondary problem drug.
Data from An Garda Síochána show an increase in the number of cocaine-related offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) from 180 in 2000 to 1,224 in 2005.
Both Garda and Customs & Excise data show an increase in the number of cocaine seizures. The former show an increase from 206 in 2000 to 968 in 2005. The latter show an increase from 12 in 2000 to 67 in 2004.
Data from the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, based on road safety tests, also indicate an increase in cocaine positive tests up to 2005.
Hospital In-Patient Enquiry Data (HIPE) data shows that the number of incidences of cocaine-related diagnosis in hospitals increased from 54 in 2000 to 222 in 2004.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Noel Ahern TD, Minister with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, stated that the risks associated with cocaine use are extremely high:

Minister Ahern pointed out that the report highlights the fact that cocaine use is predominantly a young adult phenomenon affecting mostly those aged between 15 and 34.

“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. 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.

“At the same time, we must emphasise that treatment is available and is effective. It is clear that one of the challenges facing service providers is to persuade cocaine users to avail of treatment, while the continued upskilling of personnel to meet the needs of cocaine users is also important,”

Minister Ahern said. He further indicated that he has already funded a pilot training initiative in that regard.

Another trend highlighted by this report, according to the Chairperson of the NACD Dr Des Corrigan, is that many problem heroin users are also using cocaine, and that polydrug use is now common among drug-users. He indicated that it is difficult to determine at this stage whether there has been a significant increase nationally in drug misuse.

“Our most recent comprehensive figures for the misuse of drugs come from the all island Drug Prevalence Survey 2002/2003. Fieldwork for the second such survey is currently in progress and will be completed in April, with first reports becoming available in the autumn”.

Dr Corrigan also indicated that the findings on cocaine use in this report were very much in line with the trends identified in a 2003 NACD report on cocaine use:

“What makes this report different to 2003 is the extent of information available to us on the impact of cocaine in the community. Communities are experiencing the consequences in terms of sharp increases in public disturbance, noise, intimidation and violence. Individuals are experiencing the consequences in terms of disrupted personal relationships, reduced productivity, loss of employment and income, as well as physical and/or mental ill-health.”

Dr Corrigan explained that the physical health problems caused by cocaine use affect the heart, lungs, brain, kidneys and nose, with intravenous cocaine use leading to abscesses, clots, as well as a range of infections including HIV and Hepatitis B and C. The mental health problems include depression, anxiety, agitation, compulsive behaviour, paranoia and aggression. The toxic effects of cocaine are heightened when it is combined with alcohol.

Ms Patricia O’Connor, Director of the NDST, added:

“It is imperative that the information in this report be used by policy makers, service providers, general practitioners, hospital consultants and community groups to better understand the impact of cocaine on individuals, families and communities. We must strive to make services more visible and attractive to those who may need to benefit from them.”


The full report has been uploaded to the File Archive (Cocaine & Crack section). SWIS has not had a chance to read it yet, but the forward from Noel Ahern is VERY predictable and SWIS suspects the rest of the report will be likewise.




The thirteen recommendations in the report, principally focusing on treatment, but also covering supply, prevention and research will now be followed up by the relevant Departments and Agencies and others involved in the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy.