Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

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Table 4.4Number of new cases who lived in Dublin and reported crack cocaine as a problemdrug, by accommodation status, as reported to the NDTRS, 2004 to 2006Accommodation status Number %Stable accommodation 21 60.0Unstable accommodation* 12 34.4Not known 2 5.7Total 35 100.0* Unstable accommodation includes prisons, halfway houses, homeless hostels, bed and breakfast, sleeping rough andliving with friends on a temporary basis.Of the 24 drug-treatment and social services interviewed who that had recentexperience of crack users, 16 had experience with homeless individuals using crack.A similar experience was reported by a drug-treatment service specifically targetingthe homeless in the north-inner city; it estimated that just under one-third of its clientswere using crack (15 users approximately).4.7 Key findings• The majority of crack users seeking treatment had a history of problematic druguse (mainly involving opiates). This was confirmed by data from drug-treatmentand social services.• The data from the NDTRS provide a profile of the 35 new cases who lived inDublin and reported crack cocaine as a problem drug between 2004 and 2006.Over half (51%) were aged between 20 and 29 years at the time they commencedtreatment; 37.1% were over 30 years of age; and 37% had begun to use crackbefore the age of 20.• According to collated data from treatment settings, approximately three outof every four crack users are male. Interviews with drug-treatment and socialservices suggested that the gender balance varied between individual services.• Several drug-treatment services reported that females involved in sex work andsingle mothers developed the most chaotic crack addiction.• A number of service providers reported that a proportion of crack cocaine usersmay be young people who binge on crack but do not engage with treatmentservices, primarily because they do not view crack as harmful or their use asproblematic or do not want to be associated with the established opiate treatmentcentres. None of these young people were available for interview.• Education levels were low among crack users in treatment and homelessnesswas commonCrack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy57
5 Patterns of crack use and routes of administration5.0 OverviewThis section outlines common patterns of crack cocaine use as well as routes ofadministration that have been reported in international studies. It also presents findingsfrom NDTRS data and from the in-depth interviews and focus groups with users andservice providers in relation to the use of crack with other substances, the frequency ofuse and how crack is administered by users in Dublin.5.1 IntroductionResearch evidence from the UK indicates that the majority of crack users in Britainare polydrug users, and dependent users of heroin in particular (Home Office 2002). Astudy by Gossop et al. (2002) found that some heroin users who were not using crackprior to treatment switched to crack on completion of, or during, their treatment.People receiving methadone treatment for heroin addiction may begin using crackto give them a high while failing to recognise that their use of crack is problematic(Turning Point 2005). Alternatively, crack cocaine users may start to use heroin in orderto manage the adverse effects of crack and reduce their withdrawal symptoms (TurningPoint 2005). It has been estimated that a substantial part of the growth of crack cocaineuse in London was due to its adoption by opiate users, coupled with a growth in opiateuse (GLADA 2004a). Heavy alcohol consumption has also been linked to crack use,and UK reports document how street drinkers have begun to use crack (Strange andMcGauley 2004). Similarly, US studies have highlighted heroin addiction as a likelypath to crack cocaine abuse and Sterk’s (1999) ethnographic study of 149 crack-usingmothers found that intravenous cocaine use was often a precursor to their crack habit;these women had abandoned intravenous use because their veins were damaged.Crack is usually smoked using a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or piece of tinfoil(GLADAa). It can also be used intravenously by preparing the solid rocks of crackcocaine with a transforming agent such as lemon juice or vinegar, and by applyingheat to the mixture. It has been suggested that injecting crack cocaine has remaineda relatively hidden practice because many drug-treatment service providers do notspecifically question crack users on their modes of administering the drug (Lankenau etal. 2004).58 Crack cocaine in the Dublin region: an evidence base for a crack cocaine strategy
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HRB Research Series6Crack cocaine i
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This publication should be cited as
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HRB Research Series publicationsto
Page 8 and 9: ContentsList of tables and figures
Page 10 and 11: 7 Social consequences of crack use
Page 12 and 13: List of tables and figuresTablesTab
Page 14 and 15: AbbreviationsADRUGNDUHRBISCCSGLDTFN
Page 16 and 17: Glossary of termsBenzos: The street
Page 18 and 19: Executive summaryBackground and stu
Page 20 and 21: phone and buyers are directed to sp
Page 22 and 23: Part 1IntroductionCrack cocaine in
Page 24 and 25: In the light of these concerns, it
Page 26 and 27: extensive reporting in the US about
Page 28 and 29: Ten interviews were conducted with
Page 30 and 31: also offers potential to trace supp
Page 32 and 33: Part 2Crack cocaine in the Dublin r
Page 34 and 35: 2.2 Criminal justice data - cocaine
Page 36 and 37: Prevalence of crack use among homel
Page 38 and 39: Local survey dataA survey in 2006 o
Page 40 and 41: Respondent 1: I’d say it’s stil
Page 42 and 43: 3 Dublin crack cocaine market3.0 Ov
Page 44 and 45: sold on the street for as little as
Page 46 and 47: Like, I was down on M… Street in
Page 48 and 49: 3.4 Marketing crackFour interviewee
Page 50 and 51: While crack was generally bought al
Page 52 and 53: • Although a number of dealers, o
Page 54 and 55: 4.2 Crack use and genderAccording t
Page 56 and 57: From about 16 to 21 I would say - t
Page 60 and 61: 5.2 Crack and other drugsMany of th
Page 62 and 63: Whether treated cases reported crac
Page 64 and 65: cases of intravenous cocaine use, t
Page 66 and 67: Table 5.5Number (%) of new cases wh
Page 68 and 69: Part 3Consequences of crack useCrac
Page 70 and 71: etween heroin, cocaine and crime. T
Page 72 and 73: So, they would talk about the kind
Page 74 and 75: Crack and prostitutionNine services
Page 76 and 77: On the other hand, reports from two
Page 78 and 79: often with a prevalence of opiate d
Page 80 and 81: The data provided by the NDTRS in S
Page 82 and 83: But you know it would be about kind
Page 84 and 85: So, debt is another significant iss
Page 86 and 87: 7.6 Key findings• A significant p
Page 88 and 89: There are considerable long-term ps
Page 90: 8.3 Psychological consequences of c
Page 93 and 94: 9 Treating crack use9.0 OverviewIn
Page 95 and 96: Some services were in a position to
Page 97 and 98: Both opiate-dependent and non-opiat
Page 99 and 100: • more outreach work to identify
Page 101 and 102: 10 Policing crack markets10.0 Overv
Page 103 and 104: local communities. There is growing
Page 105 and 106: He’d know me, I’d know him, you
Page 107 and 108: Table 10.1 Number of new cases who
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108 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
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11 Discussion and research implicat
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11.2 Responding to crack markets an
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11.3 Reducing the harm that crack c
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Shoplifting, burglary and robbery w
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Bourgois P (2003b) Crack and the po
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Furey M and Browne C (2004) Opiate
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Loughran H and McCann ME (2006) A c
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San Diego Police Department (1998)
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Appendix A:An evidence base for tre
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note that providing information on
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MedicationsA number of studies have
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interpersonal psychotherapy. Americ
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Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
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Jurisdiction Intervention/Descripti
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Appendix C:Recent HRB series public
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140 Crack cocaine in the Dublin reg
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Crack cocaine in the Dublin region - Health Research Board

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