SHOCK AS COCAINE USE TREBLES

THE number of people who have tried or regularly use cocaine more than
trebled in many parts of the country in the last five years, a new
study revealed yesterday.

Cocaine was the second most widely used illegal drug nationwide after
cannabis.

And the number of people using cannabis in the east coast area,
including Dublin, doubled according to the Drug Prevalence Survey from
the Regional Drugs Task Force.

The number who admitted to experimenting or using any form of illegal
drugs in the former East Coast Area Health Board region jumped from
more than a quarter (25.9pc) in 2002/03 to more than a third (38.4pc)
in 2006/07, with cannabis the most widely used drug in 2006/07
(35.9pc) followed by magic mushrooms (10.5pc), cocaine (9.1pc) and
ecstasy (7.6pc).

The all-Ireland survey, conducted between October 2006 and May 2007,
looked at the drug-taking habits of 4,967 respondents between the ages
of 15 and 64 to see whether they had ever tried drugs, were currently
using them or had recently used them.

It found the number of people who had tried or were still using
cocaine significantly increased in all areas except the southwest
since the last survey in 2002/03.

Statistically, cocaine use was particularly rampant in the northeast
where experimentation or regular use increased almost fivefold from
1.2pc in 2002/03 to 5.6pc.

Cocaine use more than doubled in the northern region from 5.2pc to
11pc in 2006/07. The midlands saw a significant increase in cocaine
use, from 1.3pc of respondents in 2002/03 to 4.4pc.

A small number of respondents also reported using highly addictive
crack cocaine.

Crack

Although the numbers of users is less than 2pc in all 10 former health
board areas, the numbers of people who tried or regularly use crack in
the northern regions jumped from none to 1.4pc, and crack use in the
northwest jumped from 0.3pc to 1.4pc.

While the survey revealed that the majority of the population did not
take illegal drugs, it may not reflect the true extent of the cocaine
problem.

"Problematic drug users may be underrepresented in this type of survey
because of the complicated and problematic nature of their lives," the
report states.

Dr Des Corrigan, chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs
(NACD) which commissioned the survey, said the findings weren't
surprising and confirmed the alarming increase in cocaine use.

"Cocaine is still the most worrying drug," he told the Irish
Independent.

"The next thing we have to look at is whether there's an increase in
the number of people seeking treatment."

A new survey, this autumn, will specifically focus on cocaine abuse to
determine the true extent of the problem, which Minister of State
responsible for the National Drugs Strategy, John Curran, said is
reaching a crisis point.

"Cocaine use has gripped the nation and the next report will be
crucially important," he said, adding "this survey confirms illegal
drug use is a nationwide problem and highlights the need for a
sustained commitment to tackle the problem."