Does Ireland have a drug problem or not?

Arghus · 04-02-2019 9:13pm

My totally anecdotal evidence is that loads of people I know take coke regularly and no-one bats an eyelid about it - I'd imagine 70% of the people I know under 25 snort it more or less every night they go out. It did feel that a couple of years ago it wasn't as prevalent.

Having said that you could be in groups where no-one takes anything. It's hard to know really. Though I definitely see more people on it and hear of them using it then I used to.

yourdeadwright · 05-02-2019 12:19pm

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

... said the guy who believes everything he hears from 17 year old kids and exaggerates it to national proportions on the basis that any given teenager MUST have complete access to any given drug at any given time.

Totally believable viewpoint based on totally reliable source. Yeah....

Im sorry to sound rude but your totally clueless,

You said drug dealers wouldn't sell coke to anyone who looks under 18 .... what world do you live in ,

I'll say it again use google and see how many teen dealers are caught in Dublin , They sell everything from wee, to coke to even Heroin ,

Again you say to expensive for 17/18 year-olds, you can get a bag for 80 euro , that's 40euro each for half a bag which would do a teen, How is that two expensive for them, ?

As for getting drug two wats ap messages maybe 3 max and most teens would have what they want,

If you've been a round a group of 20 or so 17/18 yearolds in Dublin 3 times a week you'd know they talk about everything from people doing, selling drugs to everything else,

I'v know idea where you grew up but you live in a little fantasy world when it comes to how teens live in the Dublin . People need to wake up and understand how big of an issue it is,

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 05-02-2019 1:37pm

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Im sorry to sound rude but your totally clueless,

You said drug dealers wouldn't sell coke to anyone who looks under 18 .... what world do you live in ,

I'll say it again use google and see how many teen dealers are caught in Dublin , They sell everything from wee, to coke to even Heroin ,

Again you say to expensive for 17/18 year-olds, you can get a bag for 80 euro , that's 40euro each for half a bag which would do a teen, How is that two expensive for them, ?

As for getting drug two wats ap messages maybe 3 max and most teens would have what they want,

If you've been a round a group of 20 or so 17/18 yearolds in Dublin 3 times a week you'd know they talk about everything from people doing, selling drugs to everything else,

I'v know idea where you grew up but you live in a little fantasy world when it comes to how teens live in the Dublin . People need to wake up and understand how big of an issue it is,

This is a copy-paste of your last ad homeinem that completely dodged the points I made.

1) Overhearing 17-18 year olds is ALL YOU HAVE. 2) You ASSUME they aren't just bragging 3) Ypu assume that's the same everywhere? And that ALL teenagers have 40-50 euro disposable income every weekend.

This demonstrates conclusively which one of us is clueless. Game over. You can have the last post (I dont' expected it to be any different from your previous) and I've proven my point.

CrankyHaus · 05-02-2019 1:48pm

Arghus wrote: »

My totally anecdotal evidence is that loads of people I know take coke regularly and no-one bats an eyelid about it - I'd imagine 70% of the people I know under 25 snort it more or less every night they go out. It did feel that a couple of years ago it wasn't as prevalent.

Having said that you could be in groups where no-one takes anything. It's hard to know really. Though I definitely see more people on it and hear of them using it then I used to.

Yeah that's my experience too. I started in a company with quite a young age profile and the HR guy giving the induction day made humourous reference to how the company can see how often people are going into the bathrooms at the social events it hosts. He said this as if it was all alright and sanctioned and a big laugh. A lot of my co-workers seemed to take it, even on Thursday nights-out.

My current place nobody would be touch it and most of my group of friends would generally not be bothered except for the very odd special occasions.

yourdeadwright · 05-02-2019 1:59pm

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

This is a copy-paste of your last ad homeinem that completely dodged the points I made.

1) How do you know they aand ignored the fact that your own source is overhearing 17-18yo bragging matches ...? 2) And you assume they're not lying to each other? 3) And that you assume that's the same everywhere? And that ALL teenagers have 40-50 euro disposable income every weekend?

This demonstrates conclusively which one of us is clueless. Game over. You can have the last post, I've proven my point.

1) Its not a source its an example the dont always be talking about themselves but the going on in the area and school ,, I know teens in my area who have been arrested and charged , I have a teen son who also speaks about what's happing at school ,

2) Use google , are the Garda lying about arresting teens selling drugs,

3) No idea how you where raised but most teens I come into contact with 17/18 work , Dunnes, bar's ,shops, they make there own money on weekends and after school, , 40 euro is nothing when you have no over heads,

Its quite clear from the moment you said drug dealers wouldn't sell drugs to someone who looks under 18 that you have no idea about the world you are talking about , Your obvious to the world around you and to ignorant to listen when people are telling you exactly what is happing ,

How many people on this tread have said its easy to get drugs and coke t is every where but you refuse to accept what others say ,

The world your living in sounds fantastic but its not a reality for most who live in Dublin ,
Its a worry for anyone with teenage kids and when people refuse to accept its happing makes it easier for it to keep going the way it is ,

05-02-2019 9:04pm

jobbridge4life wrote: »

What fantasy/horror version of Ireland are you living in? Whole towns seized by gangs...

Drogheda, where, as with Limerick and Blanchardstown in the past, drugs gangs have indeed become very, very noticeable to the general public. North Dublin (or parts within it) has major issues, too.

I'm surprised you seem to find it strange, considering it's fairly heavily publicised.

joeguevara · 05-02-2019 9:26pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Drogheda, where, as with Limerick and Blanchardstown in the past, drugs gangs have indeed become very, very noticeable to the general public. North Dublin (or parts within it) has major issues, too.

I'm surprised you seem to find it strange, considering it's fairly heavily publicised.

Of course the entire drug industry in Ireland is controlled by gangs apart from where the odd person grows their own plants and yes it is more noticeable mainly with the media obsession with organized crime.

But I do think it’s disengenous to say that the average punter who partakes the odd time has any real contact with this or has any impact on day to day life. The people who socially have the odd night is so far removed from organized crime.

But you are correct to say that it has controlled a lot of communities which goes back to my point of taking it away from gangs. Take where I live for example. Suburb in Dublin. Really awash with cocaine but in no way is it controlled by any criminal gang.

Potential-Monke · 05-02-2019 9:55pm

Spoke to my 'heads firmly on their shoulders' nieces. They reckon it's very easy to get alcohol and weed, couple of messages and a place to meet and you're sorted. Coke is not in their age group yet (16/17), but I know I can get my hands on hash (soap and squidgy), weed, coke, mdma, molly, ket, d5/10/15's... It's actually really easy to get the main drugs.

And, of all the people I know who take drugs, they do less harm/cause less hassle than the ones who just drink. If I had kids, I would rather to hear my child say they dropped a yoke or smoked a joint than had a drink. That's just me though. I was way worse when I drank. I'd drink to excess, get sick many times in a night (to make room for more), spend a scandalous amount of money on 'shots for everyone!!!', just general drunken fool. Got into a few fights back in the day, not so much in the last 10 years. But I learned to slow down over time, and now I haven't had a drink in nearly a year. Not because I wanted to give up, I just have no interest in it anymore, nor can I hack the 3 day hangover that comes regardless of the amount drank.

I do prefer a smoke now, and it suits my lifestyle down to the ground. I've no kids, don't want them, no interest in them. I couldn't be arsed trying to find a partner, as I probably won't find a single female in the 30-35 age range who is a gamer but doesn't want to live with her partner and has her own life independent of me (for another topic, but I think living together ruins relationships). Also, i'm 35 and living at home with my elderly parents, helping them during their twilight years while all my other siblings have their own families to look after. So not exactly the top of the list for potential partners! And I'll be paying back negative equity from the unaffordable mortgage for years, so that won't increase me chances of partnership.

Having a smoke helps me deal with the BS that is life as a single person. It also helps me with the fact that I can't afford to go back to college (a BA in Policing is fackin useless and only makes going back to college too expensive), I'll never find a job that is easy, pays well and doesn't expect anything outside of working hours (overtime is not appreciated, so I don't do it). Looking at me, I've probably given up. But I haven't, i'm just content with what I have. As long as I have a smoke, otherwise I lose patience with idiots. So easier to keep to myself. But I'm the bane of society because I have a smoke, by myself, in a house where I can't harm anyone. How dare I. I should be out every Friday and Saturday night pissing my money into a bar and being loud/obnoxious. How very dare I.

Pero_Bueno · 05-02-2019 9:59pm

Legalise Drugs!!
Pisses me off that all the people taking coke are just supporting murdering scumbags!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 05-02-2019 10:28pm

Pero_Bueno wrote: »

Legalise Drugs!!
Pisses me off that all the people taking coke are just supporting murdering scumbags!

Therein lies part of the appeal: make it legal and it'll be harder for said scumbags to operate and control the market.

Porhibition of any popular item just pushes the trade onto the black market.

joeguevara · 05-02-2019 10:40pm

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Therein lies part of the appeal: make it legal and it'll be harder for said scumbags to operate and control the market.

Porhibition of any popular item just pushes the trade onto the black market.

I am all for a reformed regime. The issue is it would have to have international cooperation unless you can produce all products internally. Take for example if Ireland legalized cocaine. How would that work in practice unless it grew the coca plants and manyfactured it in Ireland. If it couldn’t do that international criminals would still be involved.

boege · 05-02-2019 11:03pm

joeguevara wrote: »

But I do think it’s disengenous to say that the average punter who partakes the odd time has any real contact with this or has any impact on day to day life. The people who socially have the odd night is so far removed from organized crime. .

I thought this until someone I knew ran up a modest debt buying MDMA and was unable to pay it off. If you are buying you are 2-3 steps away from someone very nasty. You pay the debt or you deal until its paid off and its all very friendly, until its not.

On the other points, school kids are dealing in schools, the suppliers wait at the gates. Some of the crime killings in Limerick are rumored to be over whose kids control the supply line in the schools. I have two boys in their early 20's who are in college now. One was using casually and I found out when he was 18. He started in school and I asked him one day how many of his school friends were using. His response: 'Dad, I don't know any that were not using"

Kids that are not earning cannot afford nights out in the pub drinking - its too dear. Now its a slab of beer or a bottle of cheap Lidl booze before you go out. You have your 'E', or whatever, in the nightclub and you buy probably one drink. E are cheaper than a pint and clubs seems to be where a lot of the distribution takes place with the young. MDMA or whatever is for those into their drugs and wan to avoid the crap in E.

This is what my kids (now early/mid 20's) are telling me and I have no reason to doubt them. They are over 18 and I have a fairly open relationship with them about substance use- what else can I do. We can rant on about drugs all night but I have lost more friends from drink than drugs. I have seen ambulances at teen discos waiting to take comatose kids to hospital to be pumped - before they have even entered the disco.

Drugs have always been available in Ireland in my lifetime (mid 50's) and like drink some people can manage and some do to excess. I saw heavy drugs use in TCD in the early 80's.

What I think has changed is the prevalence of drugs now. I doubt there is a town in Ireland where drugs can not be relatively easily obtained. Sure you have to look a bit.......... but someone always knows someone!

I don't claim to have any great insight into the drug scene - this is just what has crossed my path (I live in the mid west) and I did not go looking.

Jerichoholic · 05-02-2019 11:07pm

It's harder to get on tic these days. That's the biggest problem.

joeguevara · 05-02-2019 11:15pm

Jerichoholic wrote: »

It's harder to get on tic these days. That's the biggest problem.

From my experience that isn’t the case. When I was the owner of a bar in early to mid 00’s and saw what was happening there was no such thing as lay. Cash or nothing. I see my mates now and mostly on lay and yes that can cause issues especially if alcohol is involved and decisions are clouded.

joeguevara · 05-02-2019 11:23pm

boege wrote: »

I thought this until someone I knew ran up a modest debt buying MDMA and was unable to pay it off. If you are buying you are 2-3 steps away from someone very nasty. You pay the debt or you deal until its paid off and its all very friendly, until its not.

On the other points, school kids are dealing in schools, the suppliers wait at the gates. Some of the crime killings in Limerick are rumored to be over whose kids control the supply line in the schools. I have two boys in their early 20's who are in college now. One was using casually and I found out when he was 18. He started in school and I asked him one day how many of his school friends were using. His response: 'Dad, I don't know any that were not using"

Kids that are not earning cannot afford nights out in the pub drinking - its too dear. Now its a slab of beer or a bottle of cheap Lidl booze before you go out. You have your 'E', or whatever, in the nightclub and you buy probably one drink. E are cheaper than a pint and clubs seems to be where a lot of the distribution takes place with the young. MDMA or whatever is for those into their drugs and wan to avoid the crap in E.

This is what my kids (now early/mid 20's) are telling me and I have no reason to doubt them. They are over 18 and I have a fairly open relationship with them about substance use- what else can I do. We can rant on about drugs all night but I have lost more friends from drink than drugs. I have seen ambulances at teen discos waiting to take comatose kids to hospital to be pumped - before they have even entered the disco.

Drugs have always been available in Ireland in my lifetime (mid 50's) and like drink some people can manage and some do to excess. I saw heavy drugs use in TCD in the early 80's.

What I think has changed is the prevalence of drugs now. I doubt there is a town in Ireland where drugs can not be relatively easily obtained. Sure you have to look a bit.......... but someone always knows someone!

I don't claim to have any great insight into the drug scene - this is just what has crossed my path (I live in the mid west) and I did not go looking.

Thats a very good post and refreshing to see a parent with such an honest and open relationship with your kid. While I agree that you are 2-3 steps away from someone nasty for a debt, you are nowhere near anyone a serious player in organized crime. That is not to say it is not a dangerous position to be in and for any amount of money that cannot be repaid it will not end well.

It is crazy to see the debt people get themselves into. In the past two weeks there has been two murders of people for a 50k and 200k debt.

But I suppose my point is if a person goes out on a Saturday and buys a pickmeup for cash they will never see the bad and dangerous side. I would just like to reiterate that I am in no way pro drugs. I am a pragmatist though. I would like things to be safer in our country. A black market will only allow danger and violence to permeate.

Jerichoholic · 06-02-2019 12:15am

People on a few keys of sniff are far less violent than a few lads after being on the piss for 7 hours in a chipper.

joeguevara · 06-02-2019 12:37am

Jerichoholic wrote: »

People on a few keys of sniff are far less violent than a few lads after being on the piss for 7 hours in a chipper.

I think it’s very difficult to generalize but you are probably right. But many different factors are at play. Someone could be a mellow drunk on beer but a nut job on whiskey. It also depends on their mood and if something is on their mind.

But the majority of violence is fueled by alcohol rather than a controlled substance. One of the scariest things is people who are completely blacked out and have no recollection of a fight or assault that they were involved in. I have spoken to many people who mixed alcohol and Valium and seriously assaulted anyone and they honestly don’t remember. Imagine being imprisoned for a crime youbdid commit but can’t remember.

B.A._Baracus · 06-02-2019 2:21am

We are all guilty of living in our own bubble. Just the way of life. So I'd rather listen to what a garda or hospital staff say about junkies.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it higher / more wide spread than we think tho.

joeguevara · 06-02-2019 2:42am

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

We are all guilty of living in our own bubble. Just the way of life. So I'd rather listen to what a garda or hospital staff say about junkies.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it higher / more wide spread than we think tho.

But that isn’t going to the root of the ops question. I don’t think there are any more addicts akin to what you call junkies (hate that term) now than there was in the late 70s and 80s when Larry Dunne flooded Ireland with it. At one stage Dun Laoghaire per Capita has more heroin addicts than manhattan.

But the main issue is that drugs aren’t just the vice of addicts and celebrities. It has touched every part of society. Hospital staff will tell of only a tiny portion of what is now modern Ireland. But the vast majority of people who take substances aren’t addicts and go largely unnoticed. Also if you only look at the tiny minority of addicts then you can never have a reasoned debate on the issue.

yourdeadwright · 06-02-2019 11:18am

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Spoke to my 'heads firmly on their shoulders' nieces. They reckon it's very easy to get alcohol and weed, couple of messages and a place to meet and you're sorted. Coke is not in their age group yet (16/17), but I know I can get my hands on hash (soap and squidgy), weed, coke, mdma, molly, ket, d5/10/15's... It's actually really easy to get the main drugs.

And, of all the people I know who take drugs, they do less harm/cause less hassle than the ones who just drink. If I had kids, I would rather to hear my child say they dropped a yoke or smoked a joint than had a drink. That's just me though. I was way worse when I drank. I'd drink to excess, get sick many times in a night (to make room for more), spend a scandalous amount of money on 'shots for everyone!!!', just general drunken fool. Got into a few fights back in the day, not so much in the last 10 years. But I learned to slow down over time, and now I haven't had a drink in nearly a year. Not because I wanted to give up, I just have no interest in it anymore, nor can I hack the 3 day hangover that comes regardless of the amount drank.

I do prefer a smoke now, and it suits my lifestyle down to the ground. I've no kids, don't want them, no interest in them. I couldn't be arsed trying to find a partner, as I probably won't find a single female in the 30-35 age range who is a gamer but doesn't want to live with her partner and has her own life independent of me (for another topic, but I think living together ruins relationships). Also, i'm 35 and living at home with my elderly parents, helping them during their twilight years while all my other siblings have their own families to look after. So not exactly the top of the list for potential partners! And I'll be paying back negative equity from the unaffordable mortgage for years, so that won't increase me chances of partnership.

Having a smoke helps me deal with the BS that is life as a single person. It also helps me with the fact that I can't afford to go back to college (a BA in Policing is fackin useless and only makes going back to college too expensive), I'll never find a job that is easy, pays well and doesn't expect anything outside of working hours (overtime is not appreciated, so I don't do it). Looking at me, I've probably given up. But I haven't, i'm just content with what I have. As long as I have a smoke, otherwise I lose patience with idiots. So easier to keep to myself. But I'm the bane of society because I have a smoke, by myself, in a house where I can't harm anyone. How dare I. I should be out every Friday and Saturday night pissing my money into a bar and being loud/obnoxious. How very dare I.

I'm trying to word this so I don't sound like im judging you because im not it your life live it how you see fit, My question is

Does smoking weed cause you to want to live this way ?

Or does living that way cause you to smoke weed ?

worded · 06-02-2019 1:55pm

Some countries have it worse
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/eyv2pZu

Potential-Monke · 06-02-2019 6:40pm

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I'm trying to word this so I don't sound like im judging you because im not it your life live it how you see fit, My question is

Does smoking weed cause you to want to live this way ?

Or does living that way cause you to smoke weed ?

Thank you for the first sentence, most people just jump straight on the judging bandwagon.

It's a little bit of both tbh. My circumstances are not going to change at all in the next few years, unless I win the lotto. I can give it up, I have given it up, and periodically do due to cash flow issues. I have stayed off it before, and used drink to 'relax' and ended up drinking a bottle of rum a night. Cost me a lot more than the smoke is costing me now.

But, and again looking in it's easy to think one is controlling the other, but the main reason is to get rid of the boredom. I can't afford to do much else, so I'm bored at home. Do the few jobs around the house, but I can't 'work' all the time, so I relax. Smoking passes the time better and has no side effects the following day, unlike drink.

So while it's easy to say smoking is keeping me in this, in reality I'm keeping myself in it willingly, as it's the best I can make of my current situation. I'm a bit anti-social since I left the Gardaí, I detest gossip, and I'm into anime and gaming, hate the vast majority of sports (will watch the hurling), so I don't fit in with most groups. Most of my friends are in their early 20s because they're the ones still into what I am, while everyone else my age has settled down, mortgage, kids, etc. I'll never have kids, I ended a 7 year relationship so she could be happy and have them with someone else. I had the mortgage and got rid of it, will never have one again.

I'm just making the best of what I have right now, which is not a lot. Some could say that the money I spend on weed could be better spent elsewhere, but the reality is the amount I spend on it wouldn't last very long on other activities, whereas on weed it's keeping me entertained every night, nothing else could do that for the same price.

mcmoustache · 06-02-2019 7:20pm

CrankyHaus wrote: »

Yeah that's my experience too. I started in a company with quite a young age profile and the HR guy giving the induction day made humourous reference to how the company can see how often people are going into the bathrooms at the social events it hosts. He said this as if it was all alright and sanctioned and a big laugh. A lot of my co-workers seemed to take it, even on Thursday nights-out.

My current place nobody would be touch it and most of my group of friends would generally not be bothered except for the very odd special occasions.

It seems to be common enough among people in office-jobs to be taking drugs. You'd never know, about it though from looking at them. They manage it in their own way. For example, someone taking coke or yokes on a Saturday will be fine by Monday morning. Taking hard stuff on a Thursday seems a bit silly but maybe that's just my age showing.

noubliezjamais · 06-02-2019 7:47pm

mcmoustache wrote: »

It seems to be common enough among people in office-jobs to be taking drugs. You'd never know, about it though from looking at them. They manage it in their own way. For example, someone taking coke or yokes on a Saturday will be fine by Monday morning. Taking hard stuff on a Thursday seems a bit silly but maybe that's just my age showing.

Oh, I thought you meant ON the substance while at work. I know a few lads in university that are high nearly all time (but very bright in all fairness, they got high points and are doing either science or engineering courses) as well as being high at their part-time job and even on their internships.

Nother question, Some guy up said he was okay with his kids smoking a blunt compared to weed. where would you draw the line if you had any? would pills be okay (benzos, opiate painkillers)

dartboardio · 09-02-2019 2:40pm

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Spoke to my 'heads firmly on their shoulders' nieces. They reckon it's very easy to get alcohol and weed, couple of messages and a place to meet and you're sorted. Coke is not in their age group yet (16/17), but I know I can get my hands on hash (soap and squidgy), weed, coke, mdma, molly, ket, d5/10/15's... It's actually really easy to get the main drugs.

And, of all the people I know who take drugs, they do less harm/cause less hassle than the ones who just drink. If I had kids, I would rather to hear my child say they dropped a yoke or smoked a joint than had a drink. That's just me though. I was way worse when I drank. I'd drink to excess, get sick many times in a night (to make room for more), spend a scandalous amount of money on 'shots for everyone!!!', just general drunken fool. Got into a few fights back in the day, not so much in the last 10 years. But I learned to slow down over time, and now I haven't had a drink in nearly a year. Not because I wanted to give up, I just have no interest in it anymore, nor can I hack the 3 day hangover that comes regardless of the amount drank.

I do prefer a smoke now, and it suits my lifestyle down to the ground. I've no kids, don't want them, no interest in them. I couldn't be arsed trying to find a partner, as I probably won't find a single female in the 30-35 age range who is a gamer but doesn't want to live with her partner and has her own life independent of me (for another topic, but I think living together ruins relationships). Also, i'm 35 and living at home with my elderly parents, helping them during their twilight years while all my other siblings have their own families to look after. So not exactly the top of the list for potential partners! And I'll be paying back negative equity from the unaffordable mortgage for years, so that won't increase me chances of partnership.

Having a smoke helps me deal with the BS that is life as a single person. It also helps me with the fact that I can't afford to go back to college (a BA in Policing is fackin useless and only makes going back to college too expensive), I'll never find a job that is easy, pays well and doesn't expect anything outside of working hours (overtime is not appreciated, so I don't do it). Looking at me, I've probably given up. But I haven't, i'm just content with what I have. As long as I have a smoke, otherwise I lose patience with idiots. So easier to keep to myself. But I'm the bane of society because I have a smoke, by myself, in a house where I can't harm anyone. How dare I. I should be out every Friday and Saturday night pissing my money into a bar and being loud/obnoxious. How very dare I.

Cry me a river. Smoke your weed will you, the thread is about drugs and most people (or so I thought) were on about class a or the likes, not a bit of grass.

I used to loooove smoking lots of weed. Everyday, every night, ruined it for myself cause it killed half my brain cells and made me an anxious paranoid mess! Now I’m not like that but I situate weed with that so it makes me uncomfortable to smoke nowadays which is odd. But I know it affects different people in different ways like you could have a smoke every day and it won’t affect you negatively but for others it does

Does Ireland have a drug problem or not?

Comments