CANNABIS WIDELY USED IN SCHOOLS

Cannabis is widely used in schools in Kilkenny and students are
dealing in many other drugs, a report on substance misuse in the
county has found.

The report, by the Kilkenny Drugs Initiative, says drugs are being
dealt in the toilets, on the corridors and outside the front gates of
schools.

The KDI, a cross-community body which includes representatives of the
Garda and the South Eastern Health Board, conducted a six-month study
of substance misuse in Co Kilkenny. It found that the average age of
solvent use is 12. Children aged 10 and over are taking alcohol,
ecstasy use begins at 14, some 16-year-olds are using cocaine and
people "of all ages" are using "speed".

One group of secondary pupils said young people were pooling their
money, buying blocks of hash together as in a co-operative and then
dealing it or smoking it in schools.

"Some community people who participated in the study reiterated this
fact and said it was taking place especially in secondary schools,"
the report adds. "Another point made was that dealing was happening
between schools, that substances were being bought by students in one
school and being distributed by students in another school.

The study did not attempt to establish the number of people using
drugs in Kilkenny as this was considered an "impossible task".
Instead, focus groups were employed and one-to-one interviews
conducted to ascertain what substances were available, who was using
them and why.

It also examined the effects of drug use, including cigarettes and
alcohol, on individuals and families and proposed an action plan to
deal with the problem.

It found that the use and misuse of substances in Kilkenny was not
confined to any age bracket, gender or socio-economic background. The
survey identified a gap in services for people under 18.