Cocaine Abuse Escalating

There have been three tragic deaths in west Belfast alone from drug abuse in the last six months.

The victims were all killed by taking cocaine, a group of community workers have told Assembly members.

The MLAs have been warned that Belfast is fast catching up with the existing high level of cocaine abuse in working class areas of Dublin, Edinburgh and London.

Benny Lynch of the Falls Community Council warned that he and other community workers from both loyalist and republican neighbourhoods are not being equipped by the government with the resources to tackle the drug problem and underage drinking.

Mr Lynch said: "The cocaine problem is certainly happening in west Belfast where we do most of our work.

"There have been three young people in the past six months that I am aware of - the oldest 25 and the youngest 17 - who have died from heart attacks induced by cocaine.

"The hospitals will tell you there are young people in their twenties taking heart attacks because of cocaine.

"It has even got to the stage these past number of weeks that I have got reports in where young girls are now taking cocaine because it stifles your appetite and therefore they stay thin and pretty."

Nicola Verner for the Shankill-based Forum for Action on Substance Abuse said the provision of cocaine and diazepam in working class areas was rife.

Ulster Unionist, Fred Cobain and Sinn Fein's Jennifer McCann brought together the community workers to work on a new strategy to tackle the drug and underage drinking problem.

(BMcC/KMcA)