The long-predicted crack cocaine epidemic is here and has been compared to the heroin epidemic that ravaged communities and destroyed lives in Dublin in the 1980s.
It’s cheap at as little as €10 for a “rock”, though for users smoking that will last just minutes and they’ll spend the rest of their day focused on getting the drug, while eating and self-care become secondary concerns. It makes users agitated, paranoid and aggressive – with predictable results.
Unlike powder cocaine, Ireland’s crack cocaine problem is not distributed evenly across society. Why and how has the crisis developed? And why is crack addiction such a difficult drug to treat? And why are homeless women turning to crack cocaine in such numbers?
Eddie Mullins, who spent much of his career working in the prison service, becoming the governor of Mountjoy jail, now heads up Merchants Quay Ireland, the Dublin-based charity offering services to homeless people and drug users. He describes the impact of the surging crack cocaine crisis on users and the wider community.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.