Crystal meth abuse in Limerick is at the same level that heroin was then

seizure in County Offaly last week of j500,000 of the drug as part of Operation Chestnut – set up last year to investigate Eastern European gangs suspected of trafficking drugs into Ireland.One of the most experienced members of the divisional drugs unit based at Henry Street Garda Station, Detective Sergeant Con McCarthy, said this week that while he was unaware of any crystal meth seizures in the Limerick region, he has "no doubt we will see it here in due course".
Cllr Scully said now was the time to take measures to prevent a growth in the drug's usage here, pointing to the explosion in heroin usage which has put pressure on the health services and seen the number of cases for heroin possession and thefts and robberies committed by addicts trying to feed their habit – before the courts skyrocket in recent years. The first conviction for heroin possession in Limerick was a little over a decade ago. Today over 170 people are on methadone programmes in the Midwest, three quarters of them from Limerick City. And these are only the addicts who are seeking treatment.
Cllr Scully does not want to see the pattern repeated with crystal meth."It is an incredibly destructive drug spreading untold misery in its wake. Apart from the damage users inflict upon themselves, they tend to become violent, paranoid and suffer from psychotic episodes. Abusers of crystal meth are significantly more likely to commit crimes of sexual violence. In other countries this drug has been directly linked to episodes of rape and child abuse," he warned."In the United States the abuse of crystal meth began as a rural plague before moving into cities. The same pattern may be about to replicate itself here."
"The heroin problem in Limerick could be seen coming five years ago and we failed to put the measures in place in advance to deal with it., a small and seemingly insignificant subset of the drugs culture. Heroin abuse in Limerick has increased out of all proportion over the last five years. Crystal meth abuse may be about to undergo a similar explosion. The potential negative impact on our society, our health service and the welfare of our most vulnerable is impossible to overstate. As of today, there are almost no services available to treat abusers of crystal meth in the Mid-West. With heroin, we lived in denial for too long and failed to put the measures in place to prevent large-scale addiction in our city. Let's not make the same mistake again," Cllr Scully said.