Concern for users’ health as cocaine purity plummets to just 10%

COCAINE purity levels have fallen dramatically, with the average deal containing as little as 10% pure cocaine, it emerged yesterday.

Drug experts warned potentially toxic levels of local anaesthetic are being used to bulk up cocaine deals, placing users at increased risk of heart attacks and seizures.

The revelation came at the launch yesterday of the National Drugs Awareness Campaign, which is focusing on cocaine.

The director of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, Máiréad Lyons said the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) information showed cocaine purity levels were falling.

The average purity was 36% in 2003, 23% in 2004 and 31% in 2005.

“This year they have noticed a continued decline in street deals, with preliminary tests showing an average purity of about 10%,” said Ms Lyons.

The most common substances used are lignocaine, a local anaesthetic used by dentists, and phenacetin, a painkiller taken off the market in some countries over links with kidney failure.

Figures from FSL show aboutaround 60% of cocaine cases in 2005 and 2006 contained lignocaine.

“People don’t have a clue that when they are taking cocaine they are also taking lignocaine and could be taking well beyond the maximum therapeutic dose in a couple of lines of cocaine,” said Ms Lyons.

“It can be as serious as cocaine, it acts like a fuel injector to cocaine and has worse side effects on the heart, clotting and major organs.”

She said people were having seizures and strokes.

Catherine Murphy, assistant national director of population health at the HSE, said the campaign wanted to show users how they can access help.

“Cocaine is not a clean drug and there is a high risk attached to poly-drug use. When alcohol is taken with cocaine, the two combine to produce a highly toxic substance called cocaethylene. Furthermore, mixing cocaine and alcohol increases the risk of a heart attack by 24 times.”

She said the campaign, called “The Party’s Over”, aimed to highlight the personal and financial cost to users.

The campaign, with a budget of €500,000, is using outdoor, washroom, digital and radio advertising, as well as an infoline and a text information service.

She said research on cocaine users showed they were “unaware or underestimated” the risks.

Ms Murphy said they had tested the material with users and experts to see if it was credible and relevant.

She said they had learned from a review of the last national drug awareness campaign — which highlighted a series of problems and failings — and that this campaign had been “rigorously planned and developed” and was “very comprehensive” based on the funding given.

Drugs strategy minister Pat Carey said the campaign faced “one hell of a challenge” given the extent cocaine users surveyed were unaware of the dangers.

He called on drug task forces to come up with local campaigns to complement the national campaign, which he said he had money to fund.

HSE infoline is at 1850 24 1850, or text ‘drugs’ to 51900 or visit www.drugs.ie

Cocaine users: Research findings

RESEARCH findings on a sample of cocaine users:

40% use cocaine at least every two to three months and 13% twice a month or more.

43% have used cocaine at a staff party, 19% at a work or client function and 10% in the morning before work.

14% spent more than €300 on cocaine on the last occasion and 29% spent more than €200.

41% said they were not worried about the effect on their health.

63% were not concerned about having a heart attack.

18% said they felt anxious when they took cocaine.