Pubdate: Wed, 05 Dec 2007
Source: Kerryman, The (Ireland)
Copyright: 2007 Independent Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.kerryman.ie
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4648
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

WE MUST FACE THE REALITY OF COCAINE USE

The truth is, drug use in Ireland is widespread and it is not confined
to any one sector of society. Whether or not some high-profile people
are taking the drug is only part -- and arguably a less important part
- -- of the broader issue.

Cocaine use in Ireland has dominated the media is recent weeks. We
have been bombarded by revelations and debate over the use of cocaine
by professional people and those who met their death through its use.

Justine Delaney Wilson's book, "The High Society", sparked a political
row and media frenzy. The debate quickly moved from cocaine use to the
credentials of the author and whether or not she had recorded evidence
that a government minister admitted to using the drug. Her book was
subsequently made into a television series that sparked further
controversy. Meanwhile, RTE's "Prime Time Investigates" will examine
the use of cocaine in Ireland next Monday night.

This week, model Katy French was fighting for her life after
collapsing at a party -- just one week after she admitted that she had
used cocaine. And tragedy struck in County Waterford when a young man
lost his life after taking cocaine. Closer to home, a number of tragic
deaths in Kerry have been linked to the use of cocaine and other drugs
over the past year.

We appear to be stuck in a revolving debate about whether or not
cocaine use is an issue in Ireland when, for a long time up to now, we
have sufficient hard and anecdotal evidence to prove that cocaine use
is a growing problem.

And the problem is not confined to larger cities. It is a simple fact
that cocaine use is on the increase in Kerry. There are several
cocaine users in every village and town in this county. The users
range from between those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds to
well-to-do professional people.

The price of and status associated with cocaine originally confined
its use in Ireland to a narrow stratum of society that could afford to
buy it. But the volume of cocaine now available in Kerry and elsewhere
has seen the price drop and cocaine has now become an affordable drug
for all classes in society.

Yet there still appears to be an overwhelming need to prove cocaine
use in Ireland. It's almost as if we need to witness tragedy and have
documented proof of a cause of death before we admit that it really is
killing people.

Nobody in Kerry stands at a street corner selling cocaine to
strangers. Neither do people snort cocaine from a bar counter in full
view of others. The majority of people who take the drug do not show
visible signs that they are under its influence. That's not how it
works. Cocaine and other drugs are offered in a friendly,
non-threatening manner to people who end up in the same circles in
bars, nightclubs, house parties and often in far more unsuspecting
environments and situations.

Until such time as the majority of society -- including the media --
accept the fact that cocaine and other drug use is widespread in every
community in Ireland, we cannot move any closer to tackling the problem.

So far, the debate on tackling drug use in Ireland has centred on more
rigid law enforcement and stiffer penalties for offenders.
Unfortunately such simple solutions do not always solve complex problems.

We can only rely on law enforcement to a limited extent. It is
practically impossible for a garda force to monitor the vast number of
people who may potentially be using drugs in private and secluded
environments, including the privacy of ones own homes.

It would be another tragic aspect of the drug issue in Ireland if we
were to wait for more deaths before we acknowledge the problem and
move to the next phase -- possible solutions.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin