Huge demand for cocaine addiction services in Tipperary
An increasing number of people in Tipperary are seeking treatment for cocaine addiction.
In 2022, Tipperary had the fourth highest number of people getting treatment for cocaine addiction.
Only Dublin, Cork, and Limerick had higher figures than Tipperary.
In 2022 a total of 144 people, an increase from 114 the previous year, presented for treatment for cocaine addiction in Tipperary.
The figures, according to Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan, were in line with what they were seeing on the ground locally.
Speaking at a meeting of the Tipperary Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent O’Sullivan said that there seemed to be an acceptance that cocaine use was okay. He said there seemed to be a certain acceptance in society of the use of cocaine.
Chief Superintendent O’Sullivan said people looked at the use of cocaine as “great craic”.
He told members that people were using cocaine at the weekends and going back to work on Monday or Tuesday without thinking of the impact cocaine use has on the lives of so many people, of the trauma caused in households and the amount of money spent on it.
“People seem to have no problem going out spending a few €100 on it at the weekend,” said Chief Superintendent O’Sullivan.
He told members that when they engage with people using cocaine they encourage them to get out of the habit of it and to avail of services to help them with addiction.
“We can only do so much but we can only point them in the right direction but we cannot make them get the help,” he said.
The Chief Superintendent told members of the JPC that they do their best to direct those abusing the drug towards services but cannot force people to seek help.
Members of the JPC were presented with figures concerning drug use in the county between January and May.
They were told that possession of drugs for personal use was up in that period by 10%.
The figure for possession of drugs for personal use rose from 139 to 153 during that period.
71 of those cases were in Clonmel,35 in Thurles, 27 in Nenagh, 13 in Tipperary Town and 10 in Cahir.
The meeting was told that possession of drugs for sale and supply was down 30% during that period.
There were 38 cases of possession of drugs for sale and supply in the county between January and May this year compared to a figure of 54 in the same period last year.
Again Clonmel had more cases than any other town in the county.
17 cases of possession of drugs for sale and supply was recorded in Clonmel, and 10 cases in Cahir, Tipperary Town, Thurles and Nenagh.
DRUG DRIVING
The meeting was also informed that so far this year 119 people were apprehended driving while intoxicated, a figure that was up 14% from 104 cases in the same period last year.
This figure included 33 drug driving offences.