Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

• Females involved in the sex trade are a particularly problematic group. There isevidence of an increase in the number of women entering prostitution for thefirst time as a consequence of their crack use. Female users appear to developthe most chaotic crack addiction and are thus a particularly vulnerable group.The need for an urgent outreach response is heightened by the possible childcareissues associated with such users.• The goal of law enforcement could be more broadly conceived, with, forexample, greater emphasis placed on the importance of diverting into treatmentthose offenders whose offence is connected with drug use. There is a need toimprove our understanding of both the numbers of people in this category andthe numbers of people who are diverted into treatment from all sections of thecriminal justice system: gardaí, probation, prosecution, courts and the prisonservice. The involvement of young people in crack dealing and crack use is anissue which requires further attention.• With regard to the impact of crack use on the broader family and community, oneimportant issue which has been identified in this study is how the high cost ofcrack can lead to the diversion of finances from childcare to crack use, and howit can also lead to engagement in prostitution, homelessness, and the intimidationof crack users and their family members by crack dealers over debt collection.The issue of how debt affects users, parents and other family members is acomplex one, and needs to be addressed.• There is an apparent association between crack use and increased aggression.What remains unclear however is the association between crack use and violence– be it individual violence by users or violence associated with the illicit market.• Crack users appear to be dealing in prescribed substances which are beingobtained from pharmacies and/or general practitioners.It must also be stated that any attempt to develop a sustainable response to crackrelatedcrime must acknowledge the complexity of the relationship between drug use,crime and the underlying social factors which contribute to both. Irish research hasconsistently revealed that underlying social factors – such as educational disadvantage,poverty and inequality – contribute both to problematic drug use and to criminalbehaviour. The findings of this study suggest that the typical crack user is opiate ormethadone dependent with a problematic history of drug misuse, and is likely to sharemany of these social characteristics. This poses a significant challenge to policy makersas it suggests that drug-related crime strategies must move beyond the individual andaddress the environmental context in which both drug use and crime occur in order tobe more effective.Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy113