Galway City’s cocaine epidemic brings ‘snow in summer’
From this week's Galway City Tribune - A top addiction counsellor has called on the Government to launch a taskforce to urgently combat what he termed ‘the epidemic’ of cocaine in Galway City.
Joe Treacy, an accredited counsellor with Addiction Counsellors Ireland, said cocaine and alcohol are almost equal commodities at weddings, funerals, parties and after-match celebrations for young and old and across all sections of society.
And children as young as 12 are being drawn into the illicit industry by being given scooters to carry out deliveries across city estates.
“It’s summertime and it’s snowing in Galway,” he exclaimed.
“If we screened everybody on a Monday morning, you’d be surprised at how many people would test positive. And it’s all ages, all backgrounds. It goes right across the board, professional people, sportspeople.”
Mr Treacy said the major upswing in use of the drug in the past three years was evident in screening carried out as a result of incidents that came to the attention of the Gardaí.
“We are verifying its use in screening in cases usually before the courts. They come to my attention following drink driving incidents, altercations, fighting at the end of an evening.
“CCTV footage is most interesting in Galway at the weekends. It’s mayhem. The behaviour that young people are exhibiting is not as a result of alcohol. Professional gentlemen are committing acts that are so inappropriate they face losing their jobs, their licences to practice.”
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see the May 13 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.