Home > Column: How Ireland’s modern drug scene began in 1960s Dublin.

“DRUG HABIT UNLIKELY to grow here” read The Irish Times headline on May 4 1964.

However, while authorities quoted in the article may have held that optimistic viewpoint, the writer noted that gardaí had been keeping a special eye on a number of coffee houses in Dublin “where it was suspected that ‘reefer’ cigarettes and ‘purple hearts’ were being distributed, particularly among students.”