Crystal Meth only used unwittingly in Cavan

Seamus Enright

In the week after gardaí discovered Crystal Meth in a neighbouring county, drugs counsellors have given assurances that reported instances of the highly addictive drug have, locally, remained low.
As part of a planned search, gardaí raided a house in Edgeworthstown, Longford where they discovered a 9mm pistol and a small quantity of drugs, believed to be cocaine, cannabis and Crystal Methamphetamine. A 28-year-old male was arrested and brought before the courts.
The drug which has ravaged some communities in the US and Brazil, has surfaced in County Cavan very seldomly. The majority of people who present to Cavan Drug Awareness (CDA) are addicted to cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and alcohol, according to project coordinator Tim Murphy.
Mr Murphy told The Anglo-Celt, that the few people who have tested positive for Crystal Meth appear to have done so unwittingly.
“Our screening also covers methamphetamines. We’ve had maybe one or two cases in the last three years, that’s all. It’s very low.
“When we spoke to them about using the drug, they denied knowing they’d taken it, it might have been sold to them as something else.”
Known as ice, Tina or glass, Crystal Meth is considered a powerful synthetic stimulant which is highly addictive. It can be smoked in a glass pipe, injected, snorted or swallowed, while knowledge of the drug has risen with the popularity of programmes like Breaking Bad and readily accessible information online.
“It’s something we’re always looking out for. It’s not something we’ve seen a lot of, not at this time, but maybe it’s something we might see more of in the future,” said Mr Murphy.