Analysis: Cocaine trends are most worrying for public health experts, writes Conor Lally.
Almost 30 per cent of adults aged 15-34 in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow have tried illegal drugs at least once, according to an all-Ireland drug prevalence survey. It was conducted by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) and the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit (DAIRU) in Northern Ireland.
The study, which is the first to reveal the full extent and nature of Ireland's drugs problem, reveals 19 per cent of people across the Republic aged 15-64 have tried illegal drugs.
In the Republic, consumption of illegal drugs is highest in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area, which covers the three health boards of Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. Some 27 per cent of people in this area said they had taken an illegal drug at some point in their life.
Next worse affected by the drugs trade is the North Eastern Health Board area, which covers counties Meath, Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, where 19 per cent of people have tried illegal drugs.
However, the new research confirms what gardaí and public health professionals have long suspected: that virtually every region in the country is affected by all illicit drugs on the market.
Cocaine has now taken hold in all 10 of the Republic's health board areas except one - the North Western Health Board, which covers Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. Cocaine is now almost as popular as ecstasy across the country and, in some regions, is even more popular. Crack cocaine, a relatively new drug on the Irish market, is already being used in all but three of the 10 health board areas and there are similar trends for heroin use.
However, it is very likely that, in reality, cocaine, heroin and crack cocaine are being used in all health board areas. The report's authors note that in areas where no use of a particular drug is recorded, this only means none of those surveyed had used the drug. "It does not mean that there was no use of that drug in the area, although it is indicative of low levels of use."
Cannabis continues to be the drug of choice for most drug users across the State, with almost 18 per cent of respondents to the survey saying they have used it. Magic mushrooms are the next most popular, with 4 per cent of respondents saying they had used them, followed by ecstasy, which has been used by 3.8 per cent of the 4,925 adults surveyed. The next most popular drugs are: cocaine powder, LSD and amphetamines (all 3 per cent); poppers, an inhaled stimulant which gives a rush of about a minute, (2.6 per cent); solvents (1.8 per cent); heroin (0.5 per cent); crack cocaine (0.4 per cent).
While lifetime prevalence rate for use of any illegal drug was 19 per cent across the Republic, figures for those who used any drug in the past year or in the past month were much lower; with 5.6 per cent reporting some form of drug use in the previous year and 3 per cent saying they had used some illegal drug in the previous month.
The profile of drug users was similar across the country. Generally, users were young, with more men using drugs than women. The lifetime prevalence rate of any drug among Irish men was 24.4 per cent and 13.5 per cent of women. In age terms, some 26.4 per cent of young adults, aged 15-34, had used some form of drug in their lifetime. That figure was 12.3 per cent for those aged 35-64.
While all drugs are being used virtually throughout the State, cocaine trends are perhaps the most worrying for public health experts.
Unlike heroin, users of which can be treated with methadone, there is no replacement drug for cocaine, meaning there is no medical treatment. Anecdotal evidence from the drug treatment community suggests cocaine is no longer predominantly being used as a recreational drug.
Instead, more and more heroin users in treatment are also using cocaine. Rather than snorting the drug, they are injecting it. This poses grave public health risks. A cocaine 'hit' is much shorter than a heroin one, meaning users must inject larger quantities of the drug and more often. It means the risk to drug users of contracting diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis, are much greater.
Dr Des Corrigan, chairman of the NACD, has said cocaine also leads to paranoid illusions and aggression and it was important it did not get "any more of a foothold in the country". The committee believes the Republic may be at the beginning of a cocaine epidemic but that it may take some time to make itself known.
The research has also identified significant use of sedatives, tranquillisers and anti-depressants. Some 12.2 per cent of those surveyed said they had used the drugs at some point in their lifetime. These were more popular with older people. Some 15.7 per cent of those aged 35-64 had used the drugs compared with 8.3 per cent of those aged 15-34.
Some 90 per cent of those surveyed had used alcohol in their lifetime, with 74.2 per cent having used alcohol in the past month. In general, younger adults reported higher rates of current use.
Some 60.9 per cent of respondents had used tobacco at some point, with 33.6 per cent of people having used tobacco in the past month. Rates of lifetime and current use were generally higher among males than females.
The survey was commissioned by the NACD in the Republic, in conjunction with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland.
Members of the public aged 15-64 were questioned randomly. Interviews were carried out between October 2002 and April 2003. The total sample was 8,442.