Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. I do not agree with him in saying he does not have a problem with the use of cannabis. I have to say I have a major problem with it. The drug treatment centres tell us that in the past year there has been a huge increase in the numbers of students referred to them for cannabis rather than alcohol use. Cannabis use can lead to a person taking harder drugs. That is what I am hearing as the scientific evidence and as the parent of teenagers, I would not like to see them using cannabis. The Senator was being jocose, but this is a very serious issue. If it is now the norm among students to take cannabis which possibly can lead to the use of harder drugs, it cannot be condoned in any way or allowed to become the norm because it has consequences.

I come from Limerick city which has suffered from gangland crime during the years. The Garda has done tremendous work in dealing with it. It is primarily drugs-related and a problem we have to tackle.

I welcome the legislation, with one caveat. I agree with Senator David Norris on a technical point. We have to make sure the new regulations are in place before the legislation is enacted because if people need to use a drug for legitimate medical reasons, we must ensure a lacuna will not be created whereby, effectively, we will have legislation in place which outlaws its use.

Where people are exploiting the system in creating drugs that are neither legal nor illegal, the legislation and the regulations will fill the void. Furthermore, the Garda can continue to fight crime. We cannot compare people who smoke cannabis at a dinner party for social recreation purposes with those living in poor areas who, in many cases, move on to using heroin. I would not like to see drug use, be it cannabis or some other drug, glamorised, but in some of the comments he made Senator David Norris did this. It is an issue about which I feel very strongly and one we must treat with great care. If students sitting examinations come to a drug treatment centre as a result of smoking cannabis due to stress and it is affecting their academic achievement, there are other issues that need to be dealt with, but telling people to smoke a joint because it will sort out their problems is not the answer. I have a major problem with this.

There was a flippant attitude to the use of drugs during the economic boom when various commentators spoke about taking cocain at dinner parties as if it was the norm. It is not. The Minister of State will know from her experience the devastation drugs wreak. There is no glamour in seeing people walk like zombies down a main street not knowing where they are and who are a danger to themselves and others. Drugs use is not glamorous. Cannabis use is not glamorous.

I very much welcome this legislation and ask the Minster of State to introduce it speedily. The key element is ensuring she works with her officials to bring forward the regulations governing legitimate use as quickly as possible.

An Garda Síochána, in particular, is at the cutting edge in dealing with this issue. I am aware of the fantastic work being done by Superintendent Dave Sheehan and his colleagues in Limerick, but the fight is continuous. The drug lords are making excessive amounts of money on the backs of very poor and disadvantaged individuals, some of whom end up having very short lives, which is not acceptable.

I commend the Bill to the House and look forward to the Minister of State coming before the House again with the regulations. I wish the her well in her brief. People speak about this being a serious debating Chamber. Cannabis use is not good for anyone. I disagree with Senator David Norris on the wider implications of drug use for society and, in particular, individuals.