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FIANNA FÁIL LEADER Micheál Martin has warned against “knee-jerk” reactions to drug laws following the death of teenager Alex Ryan at the weekend.
A report in this morning’s Irish Independent quoted Health Minister Leo Varadkar as saying that drug testing facilities in nightclubs could be considered.
The potential move follows the Cork house party incident last week, which left one person dead and several hospitalised.
The idea would allow drug users have their drugs tested for potentially lethal ingredients and would require a change in legislation.
The Union of Students in Ireland is also advocating a campaign that encourages people to test their drugs if they decide to break the law by using them
The young man who died on Saturday is one of six people who were hospitalised after taking the psychoactive substance known as 25I-NBOMe.
The drug is not as common as other recreationally used drugs and the death demonstrated the dangers of potentially lethal substances being sold as something they are not.
But asked today about whether drug testing in nightclubs is one option, former health minister Martin was sceptical.
“Having come from a health background and testing and regulation and so on, there are enormous issues around that,” he said.
I think politicians have to be careful of just giving on-the-spot reactions. I would consider that to be an on-the-spot reaction to meet an immediate need without really researching and considering the deeper implications.
“I think these are substances that in the ordinary run of life would never be allowed to be made, licenced to be made and to say that the State, in a quasi-way, goes in and attempts to sort of create a regime that would test. I think there is a huge difficulty with that.”
Drugs Minister Aodhán Ó Riordáin recently stated that the ‘just say no mantra’ in relation to drugs has been proven not to work and he outlined his continued argument for the decriminalisation of drug users.
This approach is also advocated by groups such as Help Not Harm and Varadkar seemed to back the approach in Cork yesterday, saying that people “don’t really know what they are taking.”
Much as we may like to believe it, just telling people not to experiment in drugs has not proven ineffective for decades.
Today, however, Martin warned today about a “growing tolerance” towards drugs.
“I think we have a responsibility to make sure that those who illicitly engage in this are hauled and dealt with before the criminal justice system,” he said.
And in my view, there’s been a growing tolerance of that kind of thing that is costing lives and damaging young people. And I think we are open to properly researched evidence based approaches, not knee-jerk reactions that may not be as well researched.
TheJournal.ie has requested further comment from the Department of Health on Varadkar’s comments.
- With reporting by Christina Finn
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I hope the Dog is ok???.
I presume he was given a Tetanus shot after biting them $cum….
That’s what these dogs are trained to do in unruly situations. Protecting their handlers is a natural instinct and to do the job that they are trained to do.
I hope that the dog isn’t punished and put down or carted off to some unknown place and used as a ‘guard dog’ to patrol some dump!
‘ Atta Boy….good doggie. LOL .
Ruff day at the office
Bite first…. Ask questions later….!
Imagine what the poor staff are subjected to on occasions like that reported. Maybe they should all be issued with a police dog?
People in the south don’t know how lucky they are not having to deal with thousands of these marches every year. Fascist nutjobs and their pisshead hangers on cause chaos everywhere they go and everyone has to put up with it because it’s supposed to be traditional. These people are less than 10% of the population but they hold everyone else hostage. Total joke!
Flegs and marches and buckfast and drugs. Sure it’s their TRADITION!!!
‘Dog bites man’, not a story. ‘Man bites dog’, now that would be a story…
“Man bites dog” is a film…… dark dark film
Incidentally the media are not mentioning that yesterday was the ‘start’ of the marching season, so thousands of drunken loyalists were probably roaming the streets. And I love when they say the start of the season as if we ever get even a month’s break from the drivel.
Is the incident out on video yet ? Its always so disappointing when you see police dogs in action on TV and they aren’t allowed to bite the bum off a crim.
A snap decision, I presume!
The only real question is were those bitten taking part in the disorder or just caught up at the start and hadn’t time or opportunity to get away. If first then good, it’s not a news item. If the latter then possibly questions should be asked ref the control the handler had on his/her dog.
Be very surprised if they were innocent as generally muzzles don’t come off until its clear that innocents are cleat and dogs are kept close to the handler and a distance away.
II hope they sue the police for damages.
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