To one seasoned community worker, who is far from a scaremonger, the cannabis now is not cannabis as previous generations know it.
“This is not cannabis, but very potent skunk and weed. In the last three to four years, I deal with this more than any other drug. It is a serious issue.”
He said one teenager he was dealing with has built up a serious debt from his use of weed.
“He’s psychotic. He’s had shots fired into his house and his Ma has sent his brother out to deal to earn money and pay off the debt. I’m getting loads of referrals from probation and gardaí.”
The rise in cannabis-related problems is one that is reported by drug projects around the country. Unpublished figures from the Health Research Board show that the number of people entering treatment for cannabis as their main problem drug reached 2,216 in 2012 (or 29% of all cases). This compares to 2,086 in 2011, 1,519 in 2009 and 963 in 2007 (17% of all cases).
There is, as yet, no breakdown on the form of cannabis involved, but much of the recent rise is expected to be linked to high-strength herb.
For decades, cannabis resin, a milder form of the drug, accounted for the bulk of cannabis in the country. While significant quantities are still being caught, its dominance has evaporated.
As the figures published in the Irish Examiner today show, the number of resin seizures collapsed, from 2,839 in 2009 to 683 in 2012.
Parallel to that, the number of seizures of cannabis plants has doubled, from 253 to 513.
Also, there has been a continuing rise in the number of seizures of cannabis herb, from 2,358 to 2,568. Some of this herb, the final product from plants, is imported and some of it is from domestic factories.
These figures show that cannabis resin accounted for 52% of all cannabis seizures in 2009, but only 18% in 2012. Back in 2011, resin accounted for 75% of seizures.
In terms of the quantity of product seized, the figures show a 10-fold increase in the amount of cannabis plant confiscated, jumping from 5,713 to 55,483. The quantity of cannabis herb seized also rose, from 673kg to 994kg. At the same time, the quantity of cannabis resin, although still significant, fell from 1.7 tonnes to 1.2 tonnes.
According to Detective Sergeant Brian Roberts of the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU), the emergence of large-scale production of cannabis here followed the success of operations in the north.Operation Mazurka resulted in the seizure of £20m (€24m) worth of plants by the PSNI in 2007.
“That pushed the production south of the border, involving principally Vietnamese and Chinese,” said Sgt Roberts.
The operation in the north followed the mushrooming of cannabis production in Britain and other parts of the EU in previous years.
A major piece of analysis by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) said the “landscape of the cannabis market has shifted dramatically”, starting in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, which experienced “steep growth” in domestic production, followed thereafter by other European countries, including Ireland.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 27/01/14
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