A new report has found that problems with cannabis use have seriously escalated in recent years, with more young male teenagers seeking help for addictions.
It also found that alcohol has replaced ecstasy as the other main drug of choice for problem cannabis users. Drugs counsellors have pointed to links between the State's growing wealth and the increasing experimentation with drugs such as cannabis and cocaine.
The number of people treated for cannabis use outside the greater Dublin area trebled between 1998 and 2002.
Some 392 people sought help for cannabis use in 1998, compared to 1,328 in 2002.
Cannabis is now a problem all over the State, with Waterford having the highest rate of new cases being treated.
The study, by the Health Research Board, also found big increases in new cases seeking treatment in Carlow, Sligo, Cork and Kerry.
The west had some of the lowest rates in the State.
The number of young people receiving treatment accounted for much of this increase.
Between 1998 and 2002 under 18-year-olds accounted for more than 30 per cent of new cases.
More than 83 per cent were male, and 70 per cent were still living with their parents or family. Almost one-quarter of these were still at school.
The increased links between alcohol and cannabis suggested that cannabis was been used in social events, according to Dr Jean Long, senior researcher in the drugs misuse research division of the Health Research Board. The increasing use of cocaine is also reflected in the survey. It found that after alcohol, ecstasy and amphetamines, cocaine was the most common "second drug" for problem cannabis users.
The increase in the numbers treated could be explained by a combination of factors, according to Dr Long. "They include an increase in access to treatment centres, an increase in the number of centres reporting cases to us, or a possible increase in cannabis supply."
The Rutland Centre, which treats addicts, said there was a clear link between growing wealth and experimentation with drugs.
Mr Gerry Cooney, treatment co-ordinator, said most young people now had a lot more disposable income and more opportunities to earn money.
"They could be looking for something else to fill the void. And if there is money to be made, opportunists will be there to make it."
He questioned campaigns to legalise the drug, and pointed out that almost all addicts of hard drugs started with cannabis.
"Not all cannabis smokers go on to use Class A drugs, but it is true that most users of drugs such as heroin or cocaine start with cannabis. It is the gateway drug."
Mr Cooney said it was dangerous to describe cannabis as "recreational" as this implied that it merely calmed and relaxed people.
"We see people with a lot of problems, apathy, a lot of hang-ups, paranoia and memory loss. There is clear evidence of its effects on motivation and drive on people who are at the age where they need to be to be driven and motivated."
