Cocaine Destroying Rural Ireland

I'd take your friend's qualified and presumably, experienced, point of view over anyone else, as would most people. As usual with humans, it is only when kids arrive that logic sets in. I see one other poster here tried to claim that addiction and " responsibility of use " are two separate things, which is, of course, laughable.

A few sleepless months worrying about your son or daughter soon focuses the mind on that claim. Almost every addict I've met began their life of addiction claiming " but I use drugs responsibly".

You see it in every Rural Pharmacy in the country.

" 24 Nurophen plus please"

" what's it for"

" My mums period pains, she sent me down"

" She's 62, isn't she?"

Down to the next chemist in the next village.

" 24 Nurophen plus please"

" what's it for?"

"Back pain"

" There you go"

And on and on it goes. Multiple pharmacy's per week, every week. Just so you can responsibly get out of bed and get the kids out to school.

It's not just Cocaine. In fact we are on the cusp of a National Coedine epidemic which is much, much, much worse. Addicts are the only responsible users of drugs. That fact that a regular user of any drug is at the stage where they consider their usage to be "responsible" is practically the definition of the first stages of addiction.

If that happens to be a good description of anyone here, it's not too late to stop, especially if you have a family.

I accept this as a contributing factor, but it's still not getting at the underlying causes. People are not doing drugs because there's less police around or because the dealers are finding it easier to operate. The dealers are taking advantage of a situation that already exists: work out what that is and no one will require their services.

The question wasn't why is cocaine more prominent, it's why are people getting addicted to it? (And by addicted, I mean where it becomes a problem: not the casual useage).

That gives an idea of the level of death annually attributable to alcohol: 4 deaths per day; or circa 1500/ year.

I remember trying to do an exercise to get my head around fentanyl epidemic in the USA; from my rough numbers if Ireland had an identical problem it would be circa 1200/annum.

Fentanyl issue in USA is horrendous and is worth reading up on, particularly in certain areas; but as bad as it is its still less than alcohol deaths per annum here.

Two hours well spent for anyhow convinced that even social alcohol drinking is harmless.

A habitual drug user describing themselves as responsible makes me think you have a rather narrow understanding of responsibility. You mean, I assume, personal health-wise only? Like, you don't OD or go around on a rape rampage while high? You're managing or accepting the damage to your brain, lungs, nose yada yada.

But in terms of societal responsibility there's a rather large difference which is difficult to ignore. There are of course personal dangers from any medicine and alcohol, but those are certainly not illegal. Your class A habit is fueling drug cartels, crime etc. How are you rationalizing that as being socially responsible?