Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

I want to raise a very important issue on HHC, a semisynthetic cannabinoid. It is being sold legally in the State. It is being purchased and consumed by teenagers. Recently in my constituency of Mayo I heard of a harrowing case of a young teenager who consumed the drug not realising how dangerous it was because it was so freely and readily available. It ruined his life. He had to withdraw from school to try to get himself off HHC. The fact is that it is sold in vape shops throughout the country. It is sold with sweets. Very often these shops smell like bubblegum and cotton candy. It is a fact that these companies are purposely targeting children with vapes and HHC. We need action to address this. We need to ensure HHC is regulated.

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