Ten years on from the tragic death of model Katy French, we are now seeing an upsurge in cocaine use in Ireland.
Dr. Chris Luke, consultant in emergency medicine at Cork University Hospital, says that there has been "a steady rise" in the number of cocaine-related cases in our hospitals over the past 20 years.
Chris also says we are currently tenth in the world for cocaine consumption, "and we're expecting to see more and more over the next year or two."
"Cocaine is entirely unpredictable in its effects on the body. It kills some people in tiny dosages."
Nicola Tallant, investigations editor with the Sunday World, says that 2007 - the year Katy French died - was "a key year for organised crime and cocaine use in Ireland, and there seems to be a resurgence in its use in recent years with the economic upturn."
"It's more expensive here than it is in many European countries, so it's a product they want to sell. It's distributed around by gangs in every county. It's not just Dublin - it's everywhere."
