Women and Cocaine in Ireland: A 426% Rise

Cocaine Use Among Women in Ireland Has Soared 426%

Cocaine use among Irish women is surging.

The Health Research Board, an Irish government agency, reported in May 2025 that there’s been a 426% increase in women receiving cocaine treatment since 2017.

That’s one of the sharpest rises in drug treatment statistics Ireland has ever seen.

And it’s not just numbers on a page.

"Irish people are the fourth largest

consumers of cocaine worldwide"

Behind each statistic is someone’s daughter, sister, colleague, or friend. More women than ever before are now turning up in treatment centres across the country with cocaine as their main problem drug.

What Is The Most Abused Drug In Ireland?

The HRB noted:

“Cocaine remains Ireland’s most common drug treated (excluding alcohol), accounting for 40% of all drug treatment cases in 2024.”

This is a profound shift. A decade ago, heroin dominated. Today, it’s cocaine — and women are a growing part of the picture.

From a legal standpoint, that matters. It explains why the State is doubling down on testing and prosecution.

The Medical Bureau of Road Safety has started reporting not just on cocaine itself, but on its byproduct, benzoylecgonine, which doesn’t cause impairment but stays in the body much longer.

"The Health Research Board,

an Irish government agency,

reported in May 2025 that there’s been

a 426% increase in women receiving

cocaine treatment since 2017"

It feels tough, but it’s part of a bigger strategy. Judges see cocaine not just as a personal choice, but as a direct line to organised crime. As one judge put it:

“Every time you buy cocaine you are feeding the drug gangs who are destroying communities across this country.”

The UN Angle

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Irish people are the fourth largest consumers of cocaine worldwide. Only Spain, Australia and Netherlands report higher cocaine use.