Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No, I am not. I am asking whether Dr. Ó Concubhair is concerned. I believe Ireland is an outlier. With regard to alcohol, we were told for years that the Irish personality or psyche is such that, in a lot of ways, we tend to go all in. That is my opinion. We all know recreational drug users. That is fine. However, we have one system in this country, one of criminal sanctions. It may not be working but it sends a message to our youth that the State does not condone this activity and that it is a criminal act to engage in it. If we take that away and allow this opening up of the marketplace to everyone and everything, how are we going to control the hard end of the drug regime? Are we going to look at what we have seen in parts of the western United States, that is, widespread drug taking and people walking around out of their faces and largely dysfunctional in society because of total dependence on really heavy drugs?