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A farmer and recovering cocaine addict is calling for increased support for rural Ireland to battle the surge in popularity of the drug after waiting three months for a bed in a rehabilitation centre.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, the dairy farmer said he was introduced to the drug in his local nightclub at the age of 18.
His circle of friends using the drug included people from his rural town in Munster, such as farmers and neighbours.
He explained how he started taking the drug on weekend “sprees” but gradually became more addicted.
“Even around the farm, I was taking it. If I was a bit tired after a night out, I’d take a couple of lines during the day to keep going just to stay awake and function,” he said.
He admits he used money he was given to pay the co-op bill by his family to fund his addiction and started dealing to fellow farmers to pay for the drug.
After over a decade battling his addiction, he decided to turn his life around with the support of his family, but then had to wait over three months for a detox bed in a drug rehabilitation centre.
If I was a bit tired after a night out, I’d take a couple of lines during the day to keep going just to stay awake and function
Unprecedented demand
Narcotics Anonymous (NA), a national organisation similar to AA, said it had heard of similar waiting times across Ireland and stated that it is experiencing an unprecedented demand for meetings and resources in rural areas.
“It’s an open secret drugs are being taken in every bar in every town and parish in rural Ireland,” its spokesperson said.
“We’re starting to see people asking for meetings in Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Kerry and west Clare.
“For our farmer members, isolation is a huge part of addiction and maybe not feeling connected to society. They also experience a lot of financial pressure.”
Rural isolation was also highlighted as an issue by senior drugs counsellor with Cuan Mhuire, Michael Guerin.
Isolation is a huge part of addiction and maybe not feeling connected to society
With over 15 years’ experience working in Cuan Mhuire, Guerin said that the number of farmers presenting with cocaine problems had gone from zero to about 15% of overall farmer cases (the remaining being alcohol-related.)
“There’s a cocaine problem now among farmers that was never there.
“You’re as apt to be a sheep farmer from west Cork or west Clare with a cocaine problem now as you are to be a university graduate from south county Dublin,” he said.
“There’s cocaine being snorted in John Deere tractors. I don’t think we have necessarily got away from the fact that we think this is only happening in cities and towns. It’s now happening in the backwaters of Ireland,” he said.
You’re as apt to be a sheep farmer from west Cork or west Clare with a cocaine problem now as you are to be a university graduate from south county Dublin
Guerin said it should become a party priority for the next Government and Minister for Agriculture.
Latest figures from the Health Research Board (HRB) show a dramatic rise in people from counties outside Dublin seeking treatment for cocaine use.
In Donegal, there were 44 cases of treatment for cocaine in 2018 – five years previous, there wasn’t a single person seeking treatment.
The situation is just as stark in other counties over the same period. Clare saw a jump from six cases to 42, Tipperary 15 to 69 and Limerick went from 20 cases to 137.
“Between 2017 and 2018, the number of cocaine cases increased by 50.3%,” the Health Research Board report said.
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