Cocaine use falls amid legal highs surge
These are among the findings of the 2011 annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), published yesterday.
The report said four of the five countries with the highest levels of cocaine use — Denmark, Spain, Italy and Britain — reported a decline in recent (last year) usage among young adults, aged 15-34.
Ireland, which is the fifth high-prevalence country, is due to publish a national population survey next week, four years on since the last survey. This is also expected to show a drop in recent usage of cocaine.
Speaking at the launch, EMCDDA director Wolfgang Gotz said the market for stimulants was undergoing “significant change” and that there were “indications that the cocaine bubble has burst”.
The report said the amount of cocaine seized had “fallen considerably” since 2006 and that the price and purity had also dropped. However, it pointed out that the number of seizures had risen.
“The financial burden associated with regular use may make it a less attractive option in countries where austerity is now the order of the day,” said the report.
The Health Research Board, which provides Irish data to the EMCDDA, said other figures suggested a drop in cocaine usage.
“The number of new cases entering treatment for problem cocaine use has declined over the past two years, indicating a possible decrease in cocaine use in Ireland,” it said.
It said the number of cocaine seizures had “decreased considerably”, from 1,749 in 2007, to 1,010 in 2008 and to 635 in 2009.
However, the seizure of 80kg of cocaine in Cork last month was the largest haul of cocaine in Ireland since November 2008.
The EMCDDA said while cocaine usage has fallen there has been a rapid growth in the sale of so-called legal highs, now banned in Ireland, via the internet.
“Online vending of new psychoactive substances/legal highs appears to be expanding at an unprecedented speed,” said the report.
It said 631 online shops were identified in July 2011, twice the number in January 2011 (314) and treble the number in January 2010 (170).
It said 197 of the shops identified in July were located in the US, 121 in Britain and 61 in the Netherlands.
The report said some of the rise in online sales may be due to the closure of physical smart shops or head shops, as has happened in Poland and Ireland.
