Addiction counsellor says cocaine is ‘blowing a blizzard’ in Galway

Speaking to Galway Bay FM he said: “It has permeated all aspects of society. Our universities, our colleges, our IT services, our professional people.”

“It’s in every town, every village, every side road, every boreen.”

“It's of epidemic proportions,” he continued.

“Last summer I gave an interview to RTE with Barry Lennihan, and it went viral.”

“I said it's summertime and it’s snowing in Galway.”

“I know we're expecting snow any day, but it’s (cocaine) blowing a blizzard in Galway at the moment,” he added.

It comes as local GP Martin Daly said there is a wave of cocaine in rural areas.

The 2019-20 National Drugs and Alcohol Survey (NDAS), which is the most recent survey by the Health Research Board revealed that 13% of adults had been offered cocaine within the previous year, with 3.5% offered cocaine on at least 10 separate occasions.

In the survey, 94.5% of cocaine users said that it would be “very or fairly easy to access cocaine within a 24-hour period”, while only 0.9% stated that it would be very difficult.

The survey showed that men aged 25-34 are most likely to report cocaine use.

It also reported that the average age of people using cocaine for the first time is 21. The average age of people using cannabis for the first time is 19 and 20 for ecstasy.

According to the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS)., in 2021, 3,248 people were treated for cocaine use an increase from 1,026 in 2015.

Cocaine-related deaths have also increased by 153% since 2010.