AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA is ramping up its campaign to highlight the damage caused by cocaine use further back along the supply chain.

In recent months, the organisation and Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly have stressed that those who “casually” consume cocaine, often on nights out, are contributing to gang violence, assaults, and further extensive damage both in Ireland and abroad.

In a social media campaign stylised similarly to well-known ‘You wouldn’t steal a car…’ anti-pirating ads in the UK, gardaí have pointed out frequent adverse effects of financially contributing to the cocaine industry.

With the hashtag #EveryLineFundsCrime, An Garda Síochána said on its social media accounts: “You wouldn’t threaten or intimidate an innocent person; you wouldn’t fire bomb a house; you wouldn’t enslave another human being; you wouldn’t harm a child; you wouldn’t put your family in danger.

“But… if you buy cocaine, you fund the criminals committing these horrific crimes.”

Gardaí said that “choosing cocaine isn’t just a personal decision – it fuels violence, exploitation, and fear far beyond your party”.

In a statement to The Journal, a garda spokesperson said of the organisation’s social media campaign: “This campaign is designed to build on [recent statements by gardaí and the Commissioner] and give concrete examples, which unfortunately we have seen in this country in recent months, to make the impact on people more real for “casual” cocaine users.

“It is hoped that the campaign will stop some ‘casual’ users from continuing to fund and fuel horrific crimes such as arson, human slavery, and violent assaults.”

In Ireland, the use of cocaine is most common among those aged 15-24 and 25-34, according to the National Drugs Library. 

The Garda Commissioner made several public statements warning of the harm caused by supporting the drugs trade, but particularly the cocaine industry, upon taking up his role in July.

In September, he criticised people who drive “green eco-cars” but also use cocaine as the production of the drug “destroys vast tracts of the Amazon”.

He said he was “surprised” at the “complete disconnect” between cocaine users and the “damage that’s doing”.