Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

With the 2010 legislation and section 2(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, there was provision that additional substances could be added to the list of controlled drugs. At the time of the 1977 Act, the drugs in question were heroin, cocaine and cannabis, etc. A Government order was the method of control. The 2010 legislation had a very effective and strong impact on the wholesale availability of lethal substances available at the time, especially between 2008 and 2010, when many head shops were set up in every town and city throughout the country. There were victims of the epidemic nature of these drugs, which were regarded as acceptable at the time. They were thought not to be a "hard" variety of drugs. A generation of mainly students attending secondary schools and colleges may not have partaken otherwise in any type of harmful drug taking but head shops were dispensing these drugs like sweets in a corner shop. It was a travesty at the time and there was a devastating effect on victims, families, schools and communities.

Naturally, this put a strain on the health services, particularly rehabilitation centres. For example, one specialist rehabilitation centre, Talbot Grove in Castleisland, coped with a very significant number of younger people in County Kerry who became victims of those drugs at the time. The manager, Mr. Con Cremin, did not get, and still is not getting, much Government aid, although the facility deserves more recognition and funding to deliver its services. The centre has high-quality staff and they did Trojan work that was mirrored across the country. It still functions as a very effective addiction centre.

Decisive action on eliminating any loopholes in legislation is imperative. For example, the legislation in Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as other EU countries, is not as watertight as ours, as reflected in the 2010 Act. Nevertheless, we must immediately rectify any cases where there may be loopholes.

Legal psychoactive drugs are getting stronger and more addictive than their illegal counterparts. This has been proved in Britain, Northern Ireland and other EU countries. The substances which mimic the effects of cannabis and heroin are completely legal and can be sold on the Internet and the high street. A lack of criminal classification does not mean they are harmless. Many have triggered devastating effects in young teenagers, such as heart attack. A couple of weeks ago a 12 year old in Belfast was hospitalised after taking synthetic cannabis at a bus stop. According to the local police, it is called “trippy weed”.

By tweaking the chemistry, drug dealers are able to make hundreds of thousands of slight variations on a synthetic drug, which are typically much stronger than naturally occurring cannabinoids. This makes illegal highs difficult to regulate but also triggers unpredictable side effects, such as heart palpitations, anxiety and acute psychosis. We need to enact this Bill immediately. I ask the Minister to seek the assistance of a Minister of State with the specific task of controlling the drug problem. I am sure that, along with the Cabinet, he will agree to do this very soon.

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