Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I join Senator McHugh in calling for another debate on cannabis use in light of a new Government report which shows that 300,000 young people use the drug on a regular basis. Given that the use of cannabis is now seen as kind of cool, we need to ensure that its ever-increasing dangers are highlighted. New medical research has proven that cannabis joints contain four times more tar than tobacco cigarettes and that adolescents who use cannabis are four times more likely to develop schizophrenia than those who do not use it. I am worried because there has not been a cannabis awareness campaign in Ireland. Most parents are ignorant of what is happening in our communities. I ask the Minister for Health and Children to come to the Seanad to outline the protections she intends to put in place. We need a cannabis awareness campaign, for example. We have to fight this ever-increasing scourge, which is found throughout Ireland.