The Dublin county coroner yesterday issued a stark warning about the dangers of using drugs including cocaine, which he termed "by far the biggest killer" of all.
He made his comments at the inquest into the double drowning of 18-year-old friends in the Grand Canal at Clondalkin, Co Dublin.
They drowned while intoxicated by cocaine and ecstasy.
Cocaine toxicity was the most common cause of death in more than half of all inquests into drug-related deaths heard in his court, Dublin county coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty said.
Of the 47 inquests into drug-related death heard at the court in 2007, 26 were cocaine-related, 16 were heroin-related and five were ecstasy-related.
David White of Carrigmore Avenue, City West, Saggart, Co Dublin, and Shane Coughlan of Mill Park, Clondalkin, were reported missing on February 25th, 2007, when they failed to return from a trip to a petrol station to buy cigarettes and mobile phone credit in the early hours of the morning.
Dr Geraghty said: "By far the biggest killer is cocaine. Of the 26 cocaine-related inquests, cocaine toxicity on its own accounted for 15 deaths, while cocaine together with heroin accounted for a further six deaths."
He added: "We had two occasions where people took their own lives after taking cocaine and a single car crash" which involved cocaine, "and now we have two deaths from drowning", he said.
"I hope at least some people will pay attention to those facts and avoid drugs and avoid the company of people who use drugs."
"Looking back on 2007 there has been a large number of inquests into drug-related deaths. And nearly all of the deaths involved young people.
"In 2007 I opened seven inquests into deaths where people were shot to death and five where they were stabbed to death and some of these involved a drug connection."
The inquest heard Mr Coughlan's body was recovered from the canal three days later by a Garda water unit, while Mr White's body was recovered six days after his disappearance.
"This is a very tragic case," said Dr Geraghty.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy in her postmortem report into the two deaths said: "Ecstasy is a stimulant and may cause anxiety, excitement . . . which may result in rash and foolish behaviour.
"It may cause hyperthermia and Shane Coughlan may have deliberately gone into the water to cool down."
Due to the combination of cocaine and ecstasy, he didn't realise the danger he was putting himself in, she said.
Mr White may have gone into the water for the same reasons, she added.
Dr Cassidy gave the cause of death in both cases of drowning with cocaine and ecstasy as contributory causes.
The men had been socialising with a large group of friend at Lindisfarne, Clondalkin.
At approximately 4.45am they left the group to go to a nearby service station to buy cigarettes and mobile phone credit, but they never came back.
One of their friends, Kelly Hinchon of St Ronan's Close, Clondalkin, told the inquest that Mr White rang her phone at 5.17am.
He was on his way back from the garage with Mr Coughlan and they wanted to find out where another friend was.
"They seemed grand," she told the court.
"Shane Coughlan wasn't that drunk that night. He wasn't falling around.
"I don't really know how David was," she added.
Ms Hinchon was the last person to have contact with the two friends.
The coroner returned a verdict of death by misadventure and expressed his condolences to both families.