A group comprising every former Drugs Minister in the State has called for urgent action on the drugs crisis in Ireland, citing the situation as being “at epidemic proportions”.

People in positions of power need to go out to communities battling drugs, crime and neglect and put resources into them and give people living there “a chance”, a conference on young people and gangs has heard.

Concerns are being raised over a Working Group's approach to dealing with people caught in possession of drugs.

Community groups at the frontline of the drugs crisis are making a final push in urging a State group to recommend decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use.

Groups working at the coalface of the drugs problem are to lead calls today and tomorrow, in Dublin and Cork, for the decriminalisation of drug possession.

Community drug projects are reporting that misuse of tranquilliser drugs is widespread, while certain parts of Dublin say crack cocaine is now a “very significant” problem.

Community leaders in an area hardest hit by the Kinahan-Hutch feud say they have not received any contact from Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald or her officials — two weeks after they appealed to her to visit Dublin’s north inner city and reassure locals.

Community workers in an area hit by three feud murders have called on Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to visit the locality and reassure people who fear being “shot on their way to the shops”.

President Michael D Higgins praised an arts project for drug users, saying it empowers people to explore “positive aspects” of themselves, to defeat the “negative”.

Eight out of 10 families, directly affected by drug addiction favour decriminalisation of drug possession, a survey indicates.

There is a sense of “utter hopelessness” in communities intimidated by gangs, local drug groups have told the Oireachtas.

The Government is putting hundreds of lives at risk by slashing drug addiction prevention budgets by more than a third since it came to power.

Budgetary cuts are undermining rehabilitation projects which offer a “lifeline to drug users, their families, and communities”.

A conference calling for a debate on drug laws yesterday heard that a man faced a three-month prison term for having cannabis worth just €2.

Children have a “very bleak future” if the Government is unable to take on the vested interests in the alcohol and sports industries, the country’s largest representative body of community drug projects has said.

Alcohol industry representatives have described as “punitive” and “short-sighted” increases in beer, wine and spirits in Budget 2014.

Judges should be allowed to impose minimum jail terms for murderers — including up to “whole-life sentences” — under plans drawn by the State’s legal advisory body.

Community groups, health researchers, and academics are calling for a national debate on drug laws.

A drugs crisis organisation is urging the Government to treat drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal one.

We, the undersigned, wish to draw your attention to the continued detention of Marian Price, which we feel constitutes an alarming breach of human and civil rights.

The largest representative body of drug projects in the country has called for a national debate on decriminalisation.

FUNDING for communities battling drugs has been further slashed, sparking angry reactions from activists who described government policies as “stupid”.

THE Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) seized almost €10 million in assets in 2007 as part of a policy shift towards targeting middle- ranking criminals.

THE department overseeing the national drugs strategy — and not the HSE — is responsible for the failure to implement the Government’s rehabilitation strategy, a leading community drugs representative has claimed.

DRUGS strategy minister Pat Carey yesterday said he was “very concerned” at the sharp rise in cocaine use and said action was being taken.

A LEADING drug project is reporting a sharp rise in crack cocaine use, with half of new cocaine clients taking the highly addictive drug.

THERE has been a 900% increase in the number of cocaine addicts being treated in Ireland over the last seven years, according to new figures.

COCAINE use is booming across the country and across all social groups with devastating impact, according to a raft of official figures.

NINE-out-of-10 community drug projects in Dublin said violent and gun-related crime had worsened, according to a new survey.

Anti-drug campaigners have accused the Government of failing to treat Ireland's growing cocaine problem with the seriousness it deserves.

FAMILIES of cocaine addicts in debt to drug dealers are being terrorised and their homes shot at, community activists said yesterday.

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell said yesterday it may make sense to caution cannabis users rather than prosecute them, but warned that it was still a criminal offence.

The Government must provide additional funding in December’s budget for rehabilitation projects to tackle Dublin’s growing drugs crisis, campaigners said today.

IMPLEMENTATION of the Government’s national drugs strategy is being threatened by the actions of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health, it was claimed yesterday.

IRELAND is facing a "cocaine epidemic" and the Government urgently needs to fund prevention and treatment, probation officers said yesterday.

ANGRY drug workers from across Dublin are to gather tomorrow for one of the biggest mass meetings of activists for more than six years.

IN the wake of recent headlines about junior minister Noel Ahern going to Germany to look at new services for drug users, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that those involved in existing services are expressing serious concerns to him about the Government’s commitment to support those services that are already in place.

GARDAÍ yesterday broke new ground when they advised heroin dealers of the treatment options open to them during their arrest.

Around four hundred protestors from all over Ireland have held a major anti-drugs rally at Government Buildings in Dublin.