THERE was stark evidence of the casual use of cocaine by young people, even in rural Westmeath, at the monthly sitting of Westmeath Coroner’s Court in Mullingar last Tuesday, 24 January.
The inquest at the Coroner’s Court into the tragic death of a young man who was socialising in Tyrrellspass on the night of his untimely passing, heard medical testimony provided which indicated that the deceased had taken cocaine earlier on the evening of the fatality.
The inquest last week was the second inquest in successive months in which the drug was found to be present in fatal circumstances, which were the subject of an inquest in Westmeath.
The coroner and jury in December heard an inquest into a case in which a 28 years old man died tragically in May of last year as a result of acute mixed drug intoxication. They heard evidence of how cocaine, prescription drugs and up to six times the legal driving limit of alcohol was found at postmortem to be in the system of the deceased man, who was from Athlone. On the same occasion, there were
admissions of cocaine use by several people present at the house in Athlone where this tragic death took place.
The December case prompted Dr. Wilfred Hoover, Coroner for Westmeath, to compare the recreational use of the drug with playing “Russian Roulette.”
“I would hope that this tragic case sends a clear message to young people that using so-called recreation drugs and alcohol in this way is a game of Russian Roulette and you might not make it,” Dr. Hoover said at that inquest, in condemning the casual use of cocaineas a warning to those who see taking the drug as safe.
ANOTHER CASE
At last week’s January inquests, Dr. Hoover presided over the case of another young man who took his own life last summer after an evening spent socialising with friends in Tyrrellspass.
Witness accounts stated that the man had been agitated earlier on the night, accusing another man of talking about him more than once during the course of the night.
The inquest was given medical testimony which stated that quantities of cocaine were found during a toxicology examination carried out postmortem.
While not directly linked in court with the cause of this man’s death, the presence of the drug highlights further that cocaine is available outside of the cities and large towns.
The uneasy statistic from the two tragic cases involving young men from the midlands that have appeared before the Coroner’s Court in Westmeath, indicates the easy availability of a dangerous drug in rural Ireland, not only in the bigger towns, but also in rural communities.
Footnote: The Gardai in Mullingar during the past week, after stopping a vehicle, took possession of a significant quantity of a white powder substance, and a subsequent raid on a local house also saw them recover another quantity of a similar substance. We understand the substance recovered was a drug and valued in the high thousands. Two men were due to appear in court, after the apparently related incidents.
