This week's fortuitous seizure of possibly much more than €100 million worth of illegal drugs off west Cork should act as a wake-up call for us all. It is the biggest consignment of cocaine ever seized in this State.
While the bulk of the bales may have been intended for the British market, a proportion of them would have ended up in our towns and cities, feeding a growing demand by young people and adding to violent activities by criminal gangs.
Cocaine has become a major threat to our society. Its image as a relatively safe recreational drug, used by glamorous, well-to-do people, has allowed it to permeate all levels of popular culture. But the harsh reality is otherwise. It is highly addictive and is associated with physical and psychological effects, especially when taken with alcohol. Five deaths from cocaine were recorded in Dublin's Coroner's Court in a single day this year. And there have been a growing number of leg amputations.
While the authorities have been trying to grapple with heroin abuse, cocaine has emerged as the drug of choice for many people between the ages of 15 and 35 years and across all sections of society.
Registered addiction levels are below those of Spain, Italy and Britain, but use of cocaine in Ireland is growing faster than in any other developed country. And the Government is only now beginning to prepare for the inevitable consequences.
A drop-in centre for cocaine users, still in gainful employment, was opened in Galway last month. Similar centres are planned for Dublin and Cork this year. It is too little and far too late. In the six years to 2005, there was a ten-fold increase in the number of people seeking help for cocaine addiction. Cocaine-related offences quadrupled.
A multifaceted response is needed to deal with this threat. The gangs that import and trade in illegal drugs have to be broken up. And activities by their members in prison must be tightly monitored. Detox beds will have to be provided for addicts who live outside Dublin and employment must be available as a means of rehabilitation. Increased financial resources are required if health and voluntary agencies are to meet the training needs of frontline staff.
We must learn from the experience of other countries, where treatment rather than punishment has become the norm. But we must also send an unmistakable signal to young people that cocaine use is not only harmful to their health, but may have negative legal, psychological and social consequences for them.
At a time when cocaine use has become so ubiquitous that it is "snorted" on the sacred ground of Hill 16 in Croke Park, as well as at house parties in leafy suburbs, action must be taken to stop it spreading its malign tendrils any further. Education and counselling are important. Garda raids and court appearances, even without the threat of jail, would send an unambiguous message to recreational drug users and potential dabblers.