According to the most recent survey, more than a fifth of Irish people have tried cannabis, with men and young people more likely to have used the drug.
Ruth is a successful marketing professional, living in Dublin with her partner, who works long hours. Like the rest of us she likes to unwind after a hard day. Unwinding for the 40-year-old means smoking cannabis, which she does a few times a week. “Instead of going to the fridge and getting a glass of wine I have maybe half a joint and then go for a bath. I smoke frequently, but I don’t smoke an awful lot, and I have to say I enjoy my smoking. I consider it a real positive in my life.”
Unlike Luke “Ming” Flanagan TD, who earlier this week announced his decision to quit smoking cannabis in Ireland, Ruth has no plans to bin her stash. She started smoking grass 20 years ago on a J1 trip to the US and hasn’t stopped since. Her cannabis supply is purchased in bulk twice a year from a relation and stored in the freezer. “It freezes well as long as it’s sealed correctly,” she says.
Ruth says 20 years of smoking marijuana has had no ill effects on her health, although she has trouble remembering people’s names. “I deal with numbers an awful lot; I have to keep a lot of information in my head for work, and I have to be very alert. I haven’t noticed any slowdown in my thinking over the years.”
According to the most recent figures from the All Ireland Drugs Prevalence survey, released three years ago, more than a fifth of Irish people have tried cannabis, with men and young people more likely to have used the drug. More than a quarter of those who tried the drug said that at one point in their lives they smoked regularly. Almost 90 per cent of recent users said they sourced cannabis from family and friends, with most having been given the drug as opposed to buying it from a dealer.
Source: Roisin Ingle, The Irish Times, 26/03/2011
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
