Crack cocaine treatment cases rise seven-fold in six years
A Of Last Treatments Up Over Fifth Crack Made Cocaine Year Cocaine All Cases
Treatment for crack cocaine has jumped seven-fold in the last six years and people are now being treated for it in almost every county in Ireland, according to a new study
The startling increase and spread of the drug comes as treatment for cocaine powder has more than trebled in the same period, between 2016 and 2022.
Crack cocaine has much stronger effects than cocaine and is linked to greater violence.
Cocaine (combining cocaine powder and crack) has now overtaken opioids, mainly heroin and methadone, as the main problem drug in treatment.
In Munster, cocaine cases have trebled in Cork, Kerry, and Tipperary and doubled in Limerick, Clare, and Waterford since 2016.
The latest figures from the Health Research Board (HRB) follow a separate report from the HSE, detailed in the , which forecasts a further 2,500 new cocaine cases by 2026, an increase of 55% on 2021 numbers.
The HRB report finds there were 12,009 cases recorded in the National Drug Treatment Reporting System in 2022, the highest number to date.
It compares to 9,227 in 2016 and 10,769 in 2021.
This includes previously treated cases and new cases, the latter regarded as a more reliable indicator of drug trends. New cases increased from 3,526 in 2016 to 4,206 in 2021 and to 4,456 last year.
Figures show a significant fall in opioid numbers between 2016 and 2021, though they did increase in 2022.
Cannabis numbers overall have remained stable since 2016, though their proportion of the total has fallen.
Cocaine stands out, with cases increasing from 1,138 in 2016 to 4,084 in 2022. The increase is even greater among new cases, more than trebling (568 to 1,839).
Cocaine now accounts for 40% of new cases, with cannabis making up a third of new cases.
Crack cocaine made up more than a fifth of all cocaine treatments last year.
Figures show:
- Powder cocaine cases rose from 957 in 2016 to 3,186 in 2022 (+233%);
- Crack cocaine cases jumped from 129 to 898 (+900%)
"Crack cocaine cases reside in almost every county in Ireland," said the report.
Of the 898 crack cases, 790 were in Dublin. There were 18 cases in Kildare, 15 in Meath, and 14 in Limerick.
“We have seen an increase in reporting for crack cocaine over the last seven years. Last year, crack cocaine accounted for over two in every ten cases entering treatment where cocaine was the main problem," said report co-author Anne Marie Carew.
“The vast majority of crack cocaine cases entering treatment resided in County Dublin. There were a very small number of cases with crack cocaine in most counties outside Dublin. Only five counties had no reported crack cases — Galway, Leitrim, Kilkenny, Monaghan and Sligo.”
For all cocaine cases, Dublin numbers quadrupled, from 573 in 2016 to 2,204 in 2022. Cork had the next highest, with cases trebling from 80 to 260. Limerick was next, with cases more than doubling, from 72 to 173.
Also in Munster, Kerry cases more than trebled (21 to 79), Tipperary cases more than trebled (45 to 144), Clare cases more than doubled (27 to 64), and Waterford cases doubled (40 to 87).
Some 41% of cocaine powder cases were people in paid employment (6% of crack cases). Just 5% of powder cases were homeless people (25% of crack cases).
While 21% of cocaine cases involved women, they accounted for 42% of crack cases.