Drug debt teens threatened with guns

Teenagers who have built up drug debts are being intimidated with guns, according to an expert in adolescent drug treatment.

Dr Gerry McCarney, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at SASSY (Substance Abuse Service Specific to Youth), said one of his teenage clients had a gun put in his mouth. Others, he said, had guns pointed at them over drug debts they had built up, often linked to cannabis use.

SASSY covers the northside of Dublin City while Dr McCarney’s counterpart on the southside of the city, Dr Bobby Smyth, has said some suicides may be linked to drug indebtedness.