Report: Cocaine use doubles over past two years

A report by the National Drug Treatment Centre has reportedly highlighted a doubling in the use of cocaine in Ireland over the past two years.

Reports this morning said 8.6% of samples tested by the centre last year were positive for cocaine.

This compares to 6.9% in 2002 and 4.4% in 2001.

The figures are contained in the Drug Treatment Centre’s annual report for 2003, which also reportedly shows a 9.6% increase in the number of people attending the centre.

Most service users were reportedly in their 20s, while 6% were aged between 10 and 19.

Around 20% of the centre’s clients were also registered as homeless.