A new campaign by the Ana Liffey Drug Project and the Health Service Executive aims to raise awareness about the dangers of using cocaine.
Cocaine use and cocaine-related deaths have increased and there has been a marked increase in crack cocaine use in Ireland.
Since last year, a number of communities have reported seeing an increase in crack cocaine use and more people are presenting with crack cocaine as their drug of choice.
It is reported that the price of crack cocaine in Dublin city has reduced to €20-€25 per rock, meaning that it is more accessible to people who could not have otherwise afforded it.
The #DoYouUseCocaine awareness campaign was launched this morning by Minister of State for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the dangers of using cocaine and how to reduce the harms associated with snorting, smoking or injecting cocaine.
The HSE said cocaine was more available and at its highest purity in Europe today than it had been in a decade.
It is the most commonly used illicit stimulant drug in Europe and Ireland ranks fourth highest in EU for use of cocaine among young adults.
Three out of ten Irish people aged between 15-64 state that they have used illicit drugs such as cannabis, MDMA or cocaine in their lifetime.
The clear message at today’s launch was that it was always safest not to take unknown or illicit drugs.
Source: Conor McMorrow, RTE.ie, 17/07/18
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