The price of cocaine in the State has fallen sharply, making it cheaper than ecstasy. This is earning it a new following of young, inexperienced recreational drug-users, Garda National Drug Unit sources warned yesterday.
Once the drug favoured by wealthier drug-users because of its high price, lines of cocaine are now being sold in Dublin for £10 each.
This compares to £20 for the most potent "jumbo" ecstasy tablet, or £10 to £15 for the "mitsubishi" esctasy tablet, both of which are used by young drug-users.
The price of cocaine has fallen globally as a result of a big harvest of the drug in 1998, which has resulted in a glut. The Garda National Drug Unit now fears the low prices may enable cocaine to get a foothold in the State.
"A lot of people are switching to cocaine because of fears about ecstasy and the fact that the Celtic tiger has put more money in people's pockets," the Garda source said.
Gardai and Customs officers have had some success in disrupting cocaine supplies, the highlight being the seizure of £50 million worth of the drug on board a catamaran in Kinsale, Co Cork, last September.
Six major hauls in Dublin and Cork so far this year have yielded £370,000 worth of the drug.
The director of the Rutland Centre addiction treatment facility, Ms Maura Russell, said people who were switching from ecstasy to cocaine in the belief that it was safer were mistaken.
As well as running the risk of heart and kidney failure and drug-induced psychosis, cocaine-users also faced the risk that the drug may be "cut" with contaminants.