Education Programme needs to be urgently updated to include Head Shops - Ó‘Feargháil

I was very much heartened to hear Minister for Health Mary Harney’s statement in the Seanad on wednesday night on her intention to introduce legislation to control a range of substances sold in headshops within the next month. This legislation follows quick on the heels of similar legislation in the United Kingdom shortly before Christmas.

However, as she pointed out in the Seanad debate on headshops, legislation is not necessarily the only way to handle this problem. Most European countries have yet to find a feasible solution through legislation alone as it is proving very difficult to keep pace with the number of new substances available in headshops. Other countries have found that once one substance is banned, another one replaces it or can be easily bought online.

While legislation is needed as soon as possible, we also urgently need public debate and a wider education campaign targeting young people in our primary schools and secondary schools. What is clear for those of us who follow these issues closely, is that these products are highly dangerous and can kill people. However, I don’t believe that young people are fully aware yet of the dangers involved in taking these substances and may be under the illusion that they somehow pose less harm than illegal drugs as they are cheap and sold over the counter.

Currently, the Department of Education contributes to the National Drugs Strategy through its social, personal and health education, or SPHE, curriculum which is taught at primary level and junior cycle level. The SPHE programme is the foundation for developing awareness of drugs and alcohol issues in schools. It is a mandatory part of the curriculum at primary level and junior cycle at second level. The implementation of these programmes in schools is supported by full-time support services at primary and second level, which provide professional development for teachers and advice and support to schools.

While it was necessary and still remains necessary to teach young people about the dangers posed by heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, the drugs market is changing at a very quick pace and we are now seeing, for example, a re-emergence of hallucinogenic drugs. I would call on the Department of Education to update the SPHE programme to include information on the dangers of headshops within our primary schools and secondary schools. We need to teach young people that just because these drugs are cheap and readily available over the counter, it does not make them any less dangerous or addictive than illegal drugs.

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