Mature debate on drug use needed

The recent media attention focusing on the unfortunate UCD students who consumed "scuzz" highlights the need to address and take a mature and humane stance on the consumption of drugs in Ireland.

A mature stance as people will take drugs irrespective of the consequences; humane as whether some parties wish to acknowledge or not, certain drugs which are used for recreational purposes also have medicinal benefits.

This recent hospitalisation could have been more tragic, not due to the inherent dangers of the drugs themselves but rather, and more specifically, the dangers of greedy drug dealers and the criminalisation of recreational drug users.

The media coverage of this event, whether consciously or not, subtly misses this issue and instead focused on misinformation and whether or not the “source of the deals” had been identified.

Ironically, even the gardaí’s own attempt to inform the public was misinformed and smacked of scapegoating and scaremongering “the two drugs on the same night could also result in a heart attack”.

As we approach the summer drug consumption, regardless of legal status, will always rise relative to the winter, and as such by taking a strategic and focused effort to actually inform the public, events such as this will continue to happen.

A policy of harm mitigation by providing drug testing stations at large events, such as music festivals, etc, would go some way to minimising the harm that illegal drug consumption places on users.

Liam Donnelly

Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Ireland

South circular road

D6