‘Cocaine. You think you know it all..’

‘Cocaine. You think you know it all’ was launched in Ballyfermot today by a number of community organisations in the Dublin 10 area. The aim of the Cocaine Awareness Campaign is to get people to take a fresh look at their cocaine use. Its use is widespread and oftentimes normalised, it is vital people recognise the problems associated with the drug. The central message in this campaign is that cocaine use does and is affecting people in lots of different ways and that help is available if and when people want it.

The campaign itself consists of six main messages which were identified by local people as being most relevant to cocaine use - cocaine and debt, cocaine and suicide, cocaine and paranoia, cocaine and addiction, cocaine and relationships, cocaine and alcohol. 6 poster campaigns, were developed each with a different theme aimed at showing the negative impact Cocaine use can have on people’s lives.

Dermot Gough, Director of Projects in Ballyfermot Advance said “This media awareness campaign is an important way of reaching the many people in Ballyfermot who are using cocaine. We are asking people to take a fresh look at how Cocaine use is affecting their lives. And we are letting people know there is help available if they need it. Some people think they have all the facts in relation to cocaine but this is not usually the case.”

The Ballyfermot Local Drugs Task Force received €20,000 from the National Drugs Strategy Team in 2008 to run a cocaine awareness campaign in the Dublin 10 area. This was run in conjunction with; Ballyfermot Advance Project, The Base Youth Centre Ballyfermot STAR, Ballyfermot Youth Services and the Task Force Coordinator.

For further information, log onto: www.cocaineyouthinkyouknowitall.com

For media enquiries, please contact Natasha McConnell, 0863940395 natasha.mcconnell@thebase.ie