HEROIN HABIT ON INCREASE OUTSIDE OF DUBLIN

THE warning signs of a serious drugs problem outside Dublin have to be
tackled to prevent the social chaos which heroin wreaked in the
capital, community drug activists warned yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of a national charter for drugs education and
prevention yesterday, CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign co-ordinator Ann
Quigley said there were clear warning signs about a drugs crisis in
Cork which could not be ignored.

"There are no words to describe the amount of human misery and
suffering that heroin has caused in Dublin and if there is anything
that can be done to prevent that happening here then it should be done.

"That's the main reason why we are here in Cork to launch the charter
because we don't want to see any other city going through what Dublin
went through.

"There are not a lot of heroin users in Cork at the moment but there
is drug use and once you have drug use it is only a matter of time
before heroin takes hold. In Dublin, there are now about 3,500 in
treatment and that's only about one third of the users according to
the Eastern Health Board.

"Tony Gregory asked a question in the Dail about heroin use in Cork
and the Department said there was no problem in Cork because there had
been no seizures. At one stage that was the situation in Dublin and
nobody thought it would develop like it did. So we are here to
campaign against complacency."

Lord Mayor of Cork, Joe O'Flynn, said Cork city already had a problem
with drugs: "We must recognise that Cork city has a serious problem
with drugs. There isn't any school in Cork where drugs are not freely
available to schoolchildren.

"Now is the time for us to create an awareness among schoolchildren,
parents and teachers and all who are in positions of responsibility
that we need to act and act quickly. It's a crisis in Dublin and it's
approaching a crisis in Cork," Mayor O'Flynn said.

The CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign extends across Dublin and now
includes the local task force in Cork, the first outside Dublin. It
involves co-operation between community activists, trade unionists,
such as SIPTU, local authorities and the gardai.

The charter calls for drugs awareness to be included as part of the
general school curriculum, and for this to be backed up by contacts
with local community activists. It also calls on the Department of
Education to set up a 24-hour drugs information freephone help-line
and to provide finance for teachers to take part in drug awareness
programmes.

Anyone seeking information can contact CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign
at (01) 8365090.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry