The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away. ~Barbara Kingsolver

Ireland has the fourth highest use of cocaine among 15 to 24-year-olds in Europe.

The annual report of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction found that almost 4 percent of 15 to 24-year-olds used cocaine in Ireland last year. Denmark had the highest rate, with 5.6 percent, Spain had 5.4 percent, and the rate was 5 percent in Great Britain. The lowest rate for cocaine use was found in Romania, which had 0.1 percent.

Ireland was also among those countries with the highest prevalence of drug-related deaths. It was fifth in Europe, with 57 drug-induced deaths per million of population, behind Luxembourg, Estonia, Norway and Denmark.

Treatment demand for cocaine use had increased dramatically in Ireland in the last eight years. In 2001, 81 people reported cocaine use as their main drug problem, while the number for 2008 was 775.

Ireland was identified as a country where legal alternatives to illegal drugs are sold. The internet and “head shops” were seen as the main outlet.

The director of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction said that “there is little to suggest at present any improvement regarding cocaine and heroin use in Europe.”

www.thetreatmentcenter.com



Kevin Kline
Director of Admissions
The Treatment Center
877-392-3342