EDUCATION A VITAL DEFENCE AGAINST DRUG ABUSE

THE most useful defence against the misuse of all drugs was information and
education, the Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs
Strategy Team, Chris Flood said, yesterday.

The Minister said such basic tools had to be linked with providing young
people with the skills necessary to make responsible decisions about the use
of drugs in their lives.

Speaking at the launch of European Drug Prevention Week at the National
Basketball Arena in Tallaght, Co Dublin, Mr Flood said alternatives to drugs
must be evident to young people if a credible message was to get through to
them.

"These may range from the provision of basic amenities to training
programmes for those who opt out early from the education system," he added.
Mr Flood said society would be fooling itself if it felt that it was an easy
task to keep young people away from drugs.

He pointed out that there was an increasing number of young people abusing
tobacco and alcohol despite the known dangers of their misuse to health. He
continued: "The use of drugs such as ecstasy and cannabis is often portrayed
as glamorous and fashionable by pop culture or elsewhere, including the
Internet. It would be easy to become overwhelmed and say that little can be
done to counteract this."

Mr Flood said European Drug Prevention Week was a response to the challenge
posed to communities by drugs. He also urged the media to play a
constructive role in its reporting of drug-related stories.

"It is very easy to sensationalise the drugs issue," said Mr Flood. "So many
of our top news stories deal with the sordid side of the drug problem --
murders, drug seizures, money laundering, and communities ravaged by drugs.
It is much more difficult to attract our attention to positive news stories,
such as how certain communities are successfully tackling the problem."

Yesterday's launch was also attended by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and
representatives of the health boards, gardai, Customs and Excise, as well as
several voluntary and community groups.

The theme of this year's promotion which includes a range of events
throughout the country over the coming week is:

* Multi-disciplinary approach and drug prevention.

* Awareness raising and partnerships.

* A poster and range of information cards have been launched to provide
information of the dangers associated with misuse of drugs.

* A drugs information helpline on 1850-505070 will also operate.

Checked-by: Don Beck