A surge in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction underlines the need to treat it as a healthcare issue rather than a criminal issue, the Health Minister has said.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Stephen Donnelly said a new report showing a near-230% increase in people seeking treatment for cocaine use is “very concerning”.
The report from the Health Research Board (HRB) shows that Ireland last year recorded its highest-ever number of cases in drug treatment.
The report notes that each case relates to a treatment recorded in the National Drug Treatment Reporting System rather than a person.
The same person could be counted more than once if they accessed more than one treatment plan in the same year.
Cocaine
According to the report, there were 13,104 cases treated for problem drug use in 2023 – with more than one-third of those cases that had never been in treatment before.
Cocaine was the most common drug reported in 2023, accounting for 37.6% of all cases.
Over the last six years, there has been a 228.2% increase in cases where cocaine is recorded as the main problem.
The problem is growing at a particularly fast rate for women – with the report recording a 388.4% increase in women seeking treatment for cocaine over the same time period.
“We need to treat addiction not as a criminal issue, but as a healthcare issue.”
The Health Minister says figures showing a surge in people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction are “very concerning”.
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) June 25, 2024
“It is very concerning that we are seeing this increase in cocaine use,” Minister Donnelly said.
“I do a lot of work with addiction services in my own county of Wicklow
“I meet the women and men in addiction and who have been through addiction and what they have been through is horrific.
“The turmoil that is brought into their lives, the destructiveness that is brought into their lives and sometimes their family lives through addiction really is awful.”
Health issue
He said the Government must double down on plans to decriminalise addiction.
“From a health perspective, what we need to do is we need to treat addiction not as a criminal issue, we need to treat it as a healthcare issue,” he said.
“To make sure that those who are in addiction get the help they need to come through it and get the supports they need.
“But also to be talking to young people – be in the schools, be in the colleges with public health professionals, explaining the dangers.
“We want to look through what is causing this rise and what kind of additional supports and communication we want to put in place because it is concerning.”
The HRB report notes that while cocaine remains the most common drug primary people seek treatment for, the proportion of new cases reporting cannabis or opioids as their primary drug issue has fallen.
Polydrug use is common among those seeking treatment – with almost six-in-10 cases (59%) reporting taking more than one drug at the same time.
