Share
10th June 2017
09:45am BST
A new report on substance abuse in Dublin shows that some young people no longer consider cannabis a drug because it is so common.
It also shows that, worryingly, some youth are turning to cocaine because they don't believe it's addictive.
One participant of the study said "it’s the mentality that everyone’s doing it and you don’t get addicted to cocaine, you get addicted to heroin but not cocaine.”
The Drugs and Alcohol Trends Monitoring System 2017 has shown that heroin, cannabis and alcohol are the most common problem drugs, with the study into drug use in the Dublin 15 area carried out by the Blanchardstown Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force.
That report found that children as young as 11 were smoking cannabis every day, with some smoking it during school hours.
The use of cannabis, alcohol, cocaine and benzodiazepines has all increased for the under 18s, with one participant saying that "kids nowadays look on people on crack and heroin as junkies but you have these young ones and they’re smoking weed every day and tablets too and drinking at the weekend.
“They call addicts junkies and I do laugh because they’ve no awareness about drugs and what they’re doing is the same.”
The normalisation of cocaine in the workplace was also highlighted in the study.
READ NEXT: PICS: Conor McGregor Has Just Rented Out This Swish South Dublin Home For The Summer
