Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign: cocaine in local communities.

This report was carried out by Citywide to ascertain the extent of the cocaine problem in Dublin, to see if cocaine users were been seen by community drug projects and, if so, what services are currently been offered. Questionnaires were sent to 59 community drug projects requesting information on cocaine usage among clients with 27 responses (46%). When asked if existing clients were using cocaine 92.6% responded that they were, with 18 projects gleaning this information through client interviews and 6 using urinalysis. The majority of projects estimated that between 10% and 50% of clients were using cocaine. 58% of projects noted that cocaine use was increasing in communities and that 32% said that the drug was cheap and easily available. Most projects (52%) reported that cocaine was a destabilising factor in clients' progress and that 48% of respondents said family tensions had increased leading to housing crises and homelessness. Increases in petty crime and anti-social behaviour were also noted by 58% of respondents. In terms of service for cocaine users, 59% of respondents used counselling, 55% used alternative therapies such as acupuncture, 45% used harm reduction information, with many using a combination of techniques. The main concerns from community drug projects were that the problem would escalate, the existing services were unable to cope and the aggression and agitation levels amongst cocaine users