Ireland is “saturated with cocaine at the moment”, an addiction counsellor has claimed.
On Saturday, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use met for the first time to consider “the legislative, policy and operational changes the State could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs”.
It comes as the HSE says there has been “significant increase in young females” taking cocaine - news that comes as no surprise to Marie Byrne.
“Ireland is actually saturated with cocaine at the moment anyway,” she told The Hard Shoulder.
“It’s a little bit late hearing that our rates are going up - they’ve always been going up in every drug that has appeared.
“We also have, of course, huge money in cocaine sales internationally, so there’s a huge marketing for it to make it socially acceptable and there’s a snobbery around it.”
After years of work in the field of addiction she considers drug use “a form of self abuse” and worries people do not take seriously warnings about the harmful impact it can have on their health.
“It’s also a denial,” she said.
“When someone is using a drug, it’s not because they’re bad people - it’s because they’ve gotten into using it for various reasons.
“Many to do with the fact that their self-esteem may be low or they’re trying to fit in.
“So, I think when they look at others, they like to separate [themselves from it with the belief that], ‘You can use cocaine and it’s social and there’s no problems with it but definitely heroin is addictive’ - and of course, that’s not true.
“Cocaine is highly addictive and affects the heart and other things… The side effects are paranoia and palpitations, panic attacks - all sorts of things.”
Last week, Galway County Councillor Peter Roche claimed the “extortionate” price of alcohol was pushing young people towards cocaine.
“Because they [drugs] are so accessible and because alcohol is so expensive,” he said.
“I believe that a lot of young people especially are leaning towards that use… There’s quite a lot of house parties where drugs are the preferred way to get that kick.”
Main image: A man divides the cocaine into strips and then snorts. Picture by: Alamy.com
