THE DRUG PROBLEM HASN'T GONE AWAY YOU KNOW

That there could be as many as 200 people in Mullingar using heroin is
a shock. But to anyone who sits in a regular basis in Mullingar
courthouse, it's probably less of a shock than to most people.

At every court sitting in Mullingar, there are appearances by people
caught in possession of drugs - and by people in possession of drugs
with intent to sell them or supply them to others.

Discussion on Ireland's drug problem has taken something of a back
seat in the wake of our plummeting financial situation, which has, for
a year now, dominated the headlines. In fact, one might even have
thought that the drugs problem had more or less gone away.

But in fact our plummeting financial situation may end up making our
drugs problem worse too, as lack of work, lack of opportunity, and
lack of money, make people look for escape in the world of drugs.

So serious, indeed, is Westmeath's drugs problem that the Midland
Regional Drugs Taskforce wants a needle exchange programme set up for
the midlands, to reduce the possibility of addicts sharing needles,
and perhaps, contracting and/or spreading diseases such as Aids.

It sounds like we could be facing into the sort of problems that
bedevilled the 1980s, when drug addicts desperate to get money to pay
for their drugs, were engaged heavily in crime, breaking into houses,
snatching handbags, and selling whatever they could get their hands on
for whatever they could get. And what's worrying is that if drugs are
now so great a problem that there is a need for a needle exchange
problem locally, it's clear that rural Ireland could be about to feel
the full force of the sort of drugs problems that cities have long
been coping with.

That said, there is not a village in this county where drugs are not
available, nor where drugs are not used. We may console ourselves by
thinking "Ah, it's only cannabis", even though it's long been known
that cannabis is a "gateway" drug, one that starts people off on the
road to addiction.

But make no mistake about it: even in rural Ireland, cocaine is in use
- - and widely so. Ecstasy is in use. And it's not that difficult to
come by, and indeed, in some circles, there is absolutely no stigma
about using drugs.

The responsibility is back with us now. If we know who is involved in
the drugs scene, it's not enough that we warn our children to keep
away from them. We need to get on the phone, and tell the guards. It
doesn't matter if they are your neighbours, your friends, or your
relations. The fight against drugs must be absolute.

The Gardai are having their successes against drug pushers, but there
are more and more getting into the business of dealing in drugs all
the time, and the guards need every assistance they can get to keep
ahead of the problem.