It’s been more than a week since the inquest into Gerry Ryan’s death. The inquest revealed that cocaine had been found in Gerry’s system, and since then the drug has featured prominently on the front pages of most of our newspapers.

With new revelations concerning Gerry’s supplier likely to surface, it’s beginning to look like this will be a White Christmas in more ways than one. But just what is it about the drug that during the last decade has made its way so comprehensively into Irish society?

Using drugs is bad, but JOE doesn’t like to preach. So here, in an unpreachy way, are some facts about the white stuff

What is it?

Cocaine hydrochloride, coke or Charlie, is a stimulant derived from the leaves of the coca bush which primarily grows in Columbia, Peru and Bolivia. In Ireland it’s available in two forms: cocaine powder (hydrochlorine salt) and crack (freebase).

Although the powder is normally snorted, it can be turned into liquid form and injected either on its own or with heroin, in which case it makes a speedball. It’s illegal to produce, possess or supply the drug in Ireland, except on prescription, and it’s illegal to allow premises to be used for production or supply.

And the effects?

The effects of taking cocaine start quickly and last for around 30 minutes.  These effects include a sense of euphoria and alertness. Users also commonly experience impaired judgement, a delusional and overblown view of their own self importance and combativeness.

After extended use, users need to take larger doses to feel the same high. Chronic use can lead to the growth of breasts in men and impotence.

What are the dangers?

Cocaine overdoses are unpredictable. Combining cocaine with alcohol is particularly risky as when taken together the two join forces to produce another drug – cocaethylene – which is more toxic than using coke or alcohol on their own.

Users often report a dry mouth, a loss of appetite and an increased heart rate. Cocaine use can cause headaches, stomach pains, nausea, tremors, paranoia and hallucinations. It can lead to a thickening of the blood which can subsequently lead to strokes and seizures.

Heart attacks are the most common cause of death for coke users.

If heavy users stop using cocaine they often encounter a ‘crash’ which can involve restlessness, tiredness and depression.

Who takes it in Ireland?

In research done in 2002 and 2003, more than twice as many Irish men as Irish women were found to be cocaine users, and people between 15 and 34 were three times as likely to take cocaine as those between 35 and 64.

Back at the turn of the millennium it was seen as a ‘high-end’ drug taken by high rollers, but it quickly made its way into the mainstream as the country enjoyed a time of boom (albeit artificial). The rise of the Celtic Tiger saw use between 2000 and 2005 rocket by as much as 800 per cent, pushing Ireland to third place in the ranking of cocaine use in Europe.

In a 2007 report by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs showed that just over 5 per cent of Irish people admitted to having used cocaine. In that report, the average of people first trying cocaine was 22.

How much?

The Tallaght Cocaine Pilot Study in the mid 90s showed that heavy binge users in the South Dublin district were spending between €200 and €2,000 over a 3 or 4 day weekend.

In post-Tiger Ireland, however, the price of half a gram of coke has dropped to €20 as a result of a fall in demand and the flooding of the market – half the price you’d have paid back in the boom days.

It means that a line of coke now costs less than a pint of beer in a pub.

Cocaine, RTÉ and celebrity...

Gerry Ryan is the most high-profile person to die as a result of cocaine use, but his isn’t the first untimely cocaine-linked death to make the front pages. Back in 2007, 24-year-old model and socialite Katy French (below) died after taking cocaine at a house party arranged to celebrate her birthday.

Her death came at around the same time as two young men, John Grey (23) and Kevin Doyle (21) died after taking coke at a party in Waterford.

Also in 2007 RTÉ’s Primetime Investigates made a programme that looked at recreational drug use around Ireland. As part of their investigation into more than a thousand venues they took swabs from toilet cisterns at the RTÉ HQ in Dublin. When the results came back, it turned out that traces of cocaine had been detected at the Donnybrook studios.

Nick Bradshaw