Compulsory Drug Awareness Programmes in all Secondary Schools – Conway

Compulsory drugs awareness programmes should be introduced in every secondary school in the country, a Fine Gael senator has said.

Fine Gael’s Martin Conway said he will vigorously campaign for such an initiative if elected to Dáil Éireann on February 8.

Senator Conway has been a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality for over eight years and has served as Spokesperson on Justice in Seanad Éireann since 2013.

During this time, he has highlighted the growing drugs epidemic in Irish society.

He has also worked closely with groups and individuals who are endeavouring to educate and make people think before they buy.

Commenting today, Senator Conway said: “I am very concerned with the escalating violent crime in our society which is driven by the use of illegal drugs. Drugs are having a devastating effect on too many people in our country and are largely responsible for organised crime.

Senator Conway continued: “I am extremely concerned with the increasing number of young professionals and students who are using recreational drugs at weekends and at various social occasions and who appear to have no realisation of the consequences of their actions.

“They fail to understand that the drugs they are using are imported and distributed by people involved in organised crime and have no regard for the long term consequences on their own physical and mental health.

“I have worked with an organisation who spearheaded a campaign “Think Before You Buy” which has had remarkable success as a pilot project raising awareness of the consequences of using recreational drugs.

“I organised a meeting with Commissioner Drew Harris and the people behind the “Think Before You Buy” campaign last October and Commissioner Harris was very impressed with the organisation’s approach and considered it a fundamental part of the fight against drugs and organised crime.

“If I am elected a TD in the forthcoming General Election, I will campaign to have drug awareness programmes made compulsory in every secondary school in the country.

“Many secondary schools are very proactive in addressing the issue of drug awareness. In recent years we have developed Wellbeing as a core aspect of the Junior Cycle curriculum and Drug Awareness needs to be central to this.

“Education must be to the forefront in the war against drugs and we have to do everything we can as a country to equip our young people with the knowledge of the consequences of drugs before they leave secondary school. This is only one element of the campaign but a very important one.”