EXTENT OF DRUG USE AMONG TEENAGERS LAID BARE IN REPORT
COMMUNITY WORKERS AT SPECIAL MEETING SEEK ‘DUNDALK SOLUTIONS TO DUNDALK PROBLEMS’
June 2005
A startling new report which highlights the extent to which the drug culture has entered the lives of teenagers is presented to members of Dundalk town council.
‘Into the Light’ compiled by community workers Garret Weldon and Brian Doyle, finds an alarming number of teenagers abuse alcohol and drugs, or know people who do.
‘We want the report to be a wakeup call to the people of Dundalk, and welcome the steps being taken by the town council to set about finding local solutions to the problem,’ says Garret.
The report forms part of a presentation to councillors at a special meeting to address the problem of drug use.
Garret and Brian between them have thirty years’ experience of youth and community work, most of it in disadvantaged areas of Dundalk, so they are aware of the damage drug abuse can cause.
However, they decide that they want to get a snapshot of how prevalent the drug culture is outside of these areas and conduct a survey of second-level students.
‘We sent out questionnaires to Junior Cert and Senior Cert students aged 15 to 18 years,’ explains Garret.
‘We asked them about their awareness of drugs and the availability of drugs rather than their own drug usage.’
The results confirm the authors’ experience that alcohol and drugs are part and parcel of youth culture across all sections of society.
‘ There is no doubt whatsoever that drugs are present in Dundalk,’ they state in the report.
‘ The potential scale of the problem as exposed by the survey coupled with the actual experiences of those close to drugs in Dundalk paints a very dark picture for the future.
‘Of utmost seriousness is the potential spread of hard drugs and in particular heroin, a drug which respects no boundaries, physical, economic, social, political or otherwise.’
Brian says they find the meeting with the council, also attended by Dr Nazi Elfin and Pat Shills of the North Eastern Regional Drugs Task Force, and Det Sgt Brian Mohan, to be ‘very positive’.
‘I was very impressed by how progressive the councillors were and how tuned in they were to the problem and the need to address it.’
He welcomes proposals by the local authority to set up a working committee.
‘We need to develop Dundalk solutions to Dundalk problems,’ he urges.
Garret feels that all the agencies working in town need to combine their experiences and resources to come up with ways to address the growing drug problem before it’s too late.
‘ This is a problem which crosses all economic boundaries. It is not just an issue for local authority housing estates.
‘ The reality of the situation is that we are living in a drug culture. We need to say that and look at how we’re going to deal with it.’
Brian points to a severe lack of support for drug users and their families.
‘ There is not one single doctor in Dundalk who will give methadone to addicts. People have to make 64-mile round trip to get methadone.
‘ There is only on drugs counsellor to serve the whole Dundalk and north Louth region.’