Dublin Drug Counsellors Report Escalating Crack Cocaine Crisis

Drug counsellors in Dublin assert that the city is experiencing a crack cocaine crisis. Data from the Health Research Board (HRB) indicates a significant rise in individuals seeking treatment for the drug’s use across the Republic of Ireland, with cases escalating by 594% from 173 in 2017 to 1,201 in 2023. An individual user recounted arriving in the city during his 20s and subsequently developing an addiction. John (not his real name) stated, “I kind of slipped from maybe taking a few beers, to taking a couple of ecstasy, to taking some other stuff, and then I ended up on heroin and crack cocaine.” Crack refers to the colloquial term for a solid variant of cocaine typically consumed by smoking. Daithi Doolan, representing the South Inner City Drug and Alcohol Partnership, observed that numerous households in Dublin are affected by some type of addiction. He further commented, “It’s actually a crisis,” and noted, “It’s happening at the school gate in the playground.” Doolan, who also serves as a Sinn Féin councillor, expressed that communities are struggling to manage the extensive scope of drug use. He asserted, “The drug-related intimidation is affecting individuals, families and whole communities are being held to ransom by the drug dealers.” Decades prior, Dublin’s inner-city communities contended with heroin addiction. Frontline addiction professionals suggest that a scarcity of heroin, attributed to geopolitical shifts in Afghanistan, has contributed to a rise in crack cocaine consumption. During 2023, a total of 4,923 individuals sought drug treatment, identifying cocaine, either as powder or crack, as their primary concern. Cheryl Kelly, an addiction counsellor with the Donore Community Drug and Alcohol Team, highlighted the necessity for distinct services for women, separate from men, due to their “complex” requirements. She explained, “Women would find themselves in situations where they may be engaging in forced sex work, or they might be afraid of social services, and the women face an awful lot of shame and stigma in and around their drug use.” The HRB statistics indicated an increase in females seeking treatment for cocaine use, rising from 284 cases in 2017 to 1,387 in 2023. In instances where crack cocaine was the main problem, nearly half of those affected were female, just over one in 20 were employed, and the median age was 39. Ms Kelly emphasized the significance of establishing a specialized program for women. She stated, “They face an awful lot of shame and stigma because they’re nurturing and minding their children, their family or whoever it may be.” She added, “It was very important for me to engage or to help in our community drugs and alcohol team to set up the pilot programme for women. “Women won’t engage in services if they feel like the man that’s been intimidating them down at a shop on Friday is also going to be in the same service seeking support, so there is definitely a need for female-only spaces where women can feel safe.” Alan Kinsella, a case worker at the Coolmine Therapeutic community in the city centre, remarked: “We have a specific programme which is aimed to work with people who are using cocaine, both powder cocaine and crack cocaine; it has consistently had full numbers,” he noted. He continued, “When a programme which is so specific to a drug which is busy and full, it kind of tells the story of the scope of what cocaine is like, particularly in Dublin city centre.” Alan indicated that cocaine addiction transcends social boundaries. He observed, “We see people presented with cocaine as an issue from all walks of life, and people who have jobs – there is no kind of differentiation between the people that we see and the drug that they’re using.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Details concerning their external linking policy can be reviewed.