Cocaine and the GAA

[Truth hurts]

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/cocaine-is-in-gaa-every-club-its-frightening-limerick-legend-ciaran-carey-40953892.html

I was at Croke park at the weekend at Ed and was shocked and the Blaise nature of people taking coke. Is Cocaine a societal problem or does the GAA need to do more to tackle it?

[Milltown Row2]

https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/cocaine-is-in-gaa-every-club-its-frightening-limerick-legend-ciaran-carey-40953892.html

I was at Croke park at the weekend at Ed and was shocked and the Blaise nature of people taking coke. Is Cocaine a societal problem or does the GAA need to do more to tackle it?

I don't think the GAA can discourage something that health agencies, the government and police service has tried to do for years... Its as common as having a pint of Guinness with some nowadays.

The GAA can get behind the public health agencies and help promote the health issues related to using the drugs, I don't know what else they can do

[Captain Scarlet]

It is 100% part of society now and a large chunk of lads who are into it play the GAA, so it's there too.
As was said now too there is no attempt to conceal it any more or any other drugs really. You walk along the street now and lads are smoking away not a bother.

[Armagh18]

Unless the the GAA are going to start sending out squads to save dealers the bother of having kneecaps I'm not sure what they can do that the government and police haven't already. It's something that's become as common or as normal as a pint with a lot of people unfortunately.

[Truth hurts]

It is 100% part of society now and a large chunk of lads who are into it play the GAA, so it's there too.
As was said now too there is no attempt to conceal it any more or any other drugs really. You walk along the street now and lads are smoking away not a bother.

The smell of weed walking around Belfast city centre is crazy, would random drug testing at club level solve it? Could this even be allowed? Could a GAA take this in as a policy?

[imtommygunn]

Why is it the GAA's problem though?

I agree on belfast city centre. It has become pretty obvious and surely police should be doing more checking.

I thought county players did face drug tests which would have shown it up? I really don't think drug testing club players is a road that could be gone down.

[Truth hurts]

Has any player been banned for cocaine use?

[general_lee]

Anyone from your electrician to your bank manager could be sniffing the devils dandruff on any given weekend. I've even heard first hand that a certain GAA tv personality wasn't averse to having a line or two (and I've no reason to doubt the person who witnessed it). Outside having a zero tolerance policy on GAA premises I don't think there's a whole lot the association can do. Weed in my opinion is harmless and should be decriminalised immediately.

[Armagh18]

Anyone from your electrician to your bank manager could be sniffing the devils dandruff on any given weekend. I've even heard first hand that a certain GAA tv personality wasn't averse to having a line or two (and I've no reason to doubt the person who witnessed it). Outside having a zero tolerance policy on GAA premises I don't think there's a whole lot the association can do. Weed in my opinion is harmless and should be decriminalised immediately.

Smell of it would sicken ya. You need to be a total bum to be sitting about smoking weed.

[imtommygunn]

Has any player been banned for cocaine use?

IIRC only two (male)players have ever been banned for any form of drugs at all neither of which were cocaine.

Have any been caught? Who would it be that has to catch them? Did any of these drug tests show up cocaine? You would imagine if they did they'd get banned. Who knows if they did or not.

I really don't think it's the GAA's remit though.

[clarshack]

Has any player been banned for cocaine use?

Not in GAA I think, but 2 high profile soccer players were banned for taking Cocaine back in the early noughties - Mark Bosnich and Adrian Mutu.

[brokencrossbar1]

Anyone from your electrician to your bank manager could be sniffing the devils dandruff on any given weekend. I've even heard first hand that a certain GAA tv personality wasn't averse to having a line or two (and I've no reason to doubt the person who witnessed it). Outside having a zero tolerance policy on GAA premises I don't think there's a whole lot the association can do. Weed in my opinion is harmless and should be decriminalised immediately.

Smell of it would sicken ya. You need to be a total bum to be sitting about smoking weed.

I know an awful lot of professionals who are far from bums who would smoke weed to relax most evenings and would not be against doing a few lines every weekend. I know from speaking to my eldest there would be a lot of his peers who live like that and it's cheaper to take a line of coke for the high than it is to drink pints to get drunk.

[Eire90]

pubs these days just seem to be full of people shouting thats why i stay clear of them.

[Eire90]

ive heard people in tyrone try to deny that coke had reached the rural areas/clubs

[Eire90]

is cocaine to blame for the rise of violence