The number of hospital emergencies involving drunk or high people in this cadre has increased by 26%, with a startling 83% jump in cases involving cocaine.

A leading addiction counsellor said the cocaine situation “has only got worse” in the last two to three years, with widespread abuse of the drug and the emergence of crack cocaine in urban areas. 

Between 2011 and 2019, there was a 171% increase in the number of cases of young people receiving treatment for cocaine use. Use of cocaine by young women quadrupled and their intake of cannabis rose also.

Cocaine is not the only drug to which young Irish people are attracted. Almost one in five respondents aged 15-24 had used cannabis in the last year. Some 38% of drinkers in the same age group were classified as having an alcohol use disorder. 

Adolescents in Ireland rank seventh out of 35 European countries for reports of being drunk.

It is a commonly held view that cocaine use fell during the pandemic because it is perceived as a “social situation” stimulant. But addiction experts counter that it has never been so widespread. Multimillion euro drug seizures do not seem to impact supply. 

Michael Guerin, senior addiction therapist with Cuan Mhuire Addiction Treatment Centres Ireland, told the Irish Examiner: “That’s indicative of the amount of cocaine brought in, dealt in, and consumed in Ireland on a daily and weekly basis. You never hear a cocaine user on the ground telling you there’s a scarcity.”

The report said there was a “clear link between mental ill health and substance use” and said this was “evident across data on anxiety, self-harm, and suicide”.

A Citizens’ Assembly, promised for early 2023 by the Taoiseach, will examine drug policies, decriminalisation, and the resources required to contain and turn back a situation which, by any rational yardstick, is veering out of control.

Last month we said that the long war against drug cartels is taking its toll on society with Irish crime networks involved in storage and distribution throughout Europe in what is calculated to be a €10.5bn market. 

We make no apology for repeating our conclusions of Saturday, May 7: “This may be an undeclared war, but war it certainly is, and the growth in the market for drugs tells us that it is one which society is losing.

“There will be profound consequences for social cohesion and general health and wealth if these trends continue.”