Cocaine crisis - Clinics are a step in right direction

HARD on the heels of a UN report on the global drugs crisis — which named Ireland among five countries where the problem is soaring — the threat facing Irish society from cocaine use was outlined at a government-backed conference yesterday.

The harsh reality is that cocaine use is now second nature to many people. Underscoring Ireland’s dubious reputation as a significant drug centre, a 900% jump in cocaine addicts treated here was recorded over the past seven years.

Delegates also heard that cocaine is now so available it is used openly in Dublin bars where it is widely regarded as the acceptable recreational drug of the middle classes.

Since it is absolutely vital for cocaine users to realise that their cravings for this lethal drug are treatable, the decision to open the country’s first cocaine clinics in Cork and Dublin later this year is a step in the right direction.