THE HEAD OF an addiction charity said the use of crack cocaine is soaring in Ireland, while a recovering addict said the drug is now the most accessible illicit substance available.
Treatment demand for crack cocaine increased by 31% last year, and by 906% over the last decade, according to the Health Research Board.
Crack cocaine and powder cocaine – which is also increasingly popular in Ireland – are chemically the same drug, but crack cocaine is chemically altered to form crystals, is usually smoked and delivers a more intense and shorter rush.
People with experience in the area say the treatment figures represent the reality on the ground, where use of the drug continues to grow – something they say is down to the drug’s cheap price and availability.
Ciaran, a former crack cocaine addict in his 20s who has been in recovery for nine months, told The Journal that crack cocaine is on every corner.
“I go to any corner, I’m getting crack. I think it’s more accessible than weed. Crack is a lot more accessible than other drugs.”
Ciaran used crack cocaine for several years, and noticed that in the last two years, it really began to dominate the drug scene.
“You wouldn’t really hear much people on heroin where I’m from anymore, it’s crack,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eddie Mullins, chief of addiction charity Merchants Quay Ireland, based in Dublin city centre, said he doesn’t think the popularity of the drug has even peaked yet – despite it being the most common substance his organisation comes across.
“On the street, crack is by far the number one drug that we would see people who frequent our services using. There’s no question about that,” he told The Journal.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in its prevalence,” he said, outlining that the organisation picked up 806 crack pipes last year as part of cleaning efforts in the community, in comparison to 748 in 2024.
“It certainly has been on the rise for a number of years now, it’s become very prevalent over the last two to three years, but it has been on the rise for several years.”
He said the organisation’s needle exchange, which also provides crack pipes, has also seen an increase in the number of crack pipes issued every year.
Cost of crack cocaine
Mullins said the cheap price of the drug is driving its popularity, as well as its availability and impact.
“A rock of crack can be €10. It’s quite cheap, and sometimes poorer quality goes for €5,” he said.
Ciaran agreed, outlining that users of the drug often dilute what they buy with other ingredients to make it even more affordable.
But despite the low price for a single hit, the short intense high from crack means people struggling with addiction consume the drug frequently, amassing huge bills while doing so.
At the height of his addiction, Ciaran was spending over €1,000 daily on the drug and had racked up €80,000 in debt in only three months.
He said crack cocaine took over every aspect of his life. “My main focus when I was smoking crack was just crack. I didn’t care about anything else, that substance was all I cared about,” he said.
Ciaran said it gave him confidence, and he no longer cared what people thought of him – a welcome change for someone who struggled with low self-esteem.
“It gave me a high. It took me away from myself, the taste of it, what it does to you, the sex drive it gives you with women, it just does a lot for you to be honest.
“For me anyway, everything about it, it was the love of my life. It’s just what it did for me. I wasn’t myself, and I had confidence on it. I didn’t care what people thought of me.”
‘Groomed into it’
However, Ciaran doesn’t think people realise the long term impact of both cocaine and crack cocaine. “I found it very hard to get off, it’s just what it does,” he said.
He said the drug is becoming increasingly popular with people his age and younger – both to use and sell. “They’re getting groomed into it at a very young age. I would have been groomed into this life at a very young age.”
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said research suggests children as young under 12 are targeted by organised criminals to become involved in crime as they are below the age of criminal responsibility.
Ciaran said that, based on his experience, young people in communities where drug dealing is prevalent look up to those selling the drug and aspire to their lifestyles.
Crime
He said the confidence crack causes, as well as the urge to use the drug so frequently, can lead people to commit crime.
“Crack will do that to you, you don’t care,” he said. “I think with heroin, the difference was, people were goofing off, they didn’t want to go out robbing, but with crack you would rob anyone to get what you wanted.”
The Journal previously reported that Dublin retailers believe theft in the city is getting worse, an issue which is leading them to look at new approaches to help fund addiction services.
Mullins agreed that people who use the drug maybe be driven to crime to fund their habit.
“People who are addicted to crack cocaine could be taking it 10, 20, 30 times a day. Even though it’s cheap for an individual hit, because people require so many hits of it, that becomes expensive,” he said.
Mullins said that the drug is much more popular with people living on the margins already, while powdered cocaine is more popular with those taking drugs recreationally.