The distribution of cocaine is now so widespread and deeply ingrained across Irish society that it is very difficult for gardaí to target the illicit trade, it was claimed yesterday.
The Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, Noel Ahern, was responding to the publication of a report on cocaine use in Ireland by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD).
The report revealed that 78 per cent of cocaine users had sourced the drug from family or friends either in pubs and clubs or in private houses.
"Gardaí now have undercover people in many of these places [ pubs and clubs] and are trying to identify the dealers," Mr Ahern said.
He said the perception among many young people that cocaine was a "safe drug" was "false, very dangerous and needs to be challenged".
The survey revealed an average of almost 5 per cent of people aged 15 to 34 years had tried cocaine at some stage in their lives. The national average was 3 per cent for the entire population.
However, in the East Coast Area Health Board, which covers south Dublin and Bray, Co Wicklow, the lifetime prevalence rate among men was 10 per cent.
The survey, 2002/2003 Drug Prevalence Survey: Cocaine Results, was based on interviews at homes around the country conducted in late 2002 and early 2003.
Randomly selected members of the public aged between 15 and 64 were questioned between October 2002 and April 2003. The total sample was 8,442.
Mr Ahern said he accepted there was more cocaine on the streets now and that the situation regarding abuse of the drug was currently worse than yesterday's report suggested.
Data contained in yesterday's report revealed that 4.7 per cent of people aged between 15 and 34 had tried cocaine. This compared to just 1.4 per cent of 35- to 64-year-olds, suggesting its use had risen sharply in the years to 2003.
Since then Garda cocaine seizures have increased three-fold, from €8 million in 2003 to €24 million last year.
The NACD said the lifetime prevalence of cocaine use here was the same as the EU average. However, cocaine use was almost twice as high here when compared with trends in Northern Ireland.
Of the cocaine users surveyed in the Republic, 68 per cent said it was "easy" or "fairly easy" to source the drug within 24 hours. One in three women who used the drug sourced it by phoning a dealer known to them.
Of those surveyed who used the drug, 87 per cent were not regular users and took it less than once a week.
The chairman of the NACD, Dr Des Corrigan, said despite the fact that most users were not chronic, cocaine was still a very dangerous drug.
"For a lot of people it will be a one-off experiment but some people will lose control. We have to be concerned at the potential for the addiction and the violence associated with the paranoia that cocaine can cause," he said.
"It causes the spasm of blood vessels in the heart. We know that some cocaine users in Dublin are on dialysis because the spasm on the blood vessels has affected their kidneys. And some of them are on blood thinners because cocaine increases the risk of blood clotting."
The Health Service Executive was preparing for an anticipated increase in cocaine users presenting for treatment, he said.
