Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jul 2000
Source: Irish Independent (Ireland)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd
Contact:  http://www.independent.ie/
Author: Katherine Donnelly

STUDENTS CALL FOR STEPS TO CURB `DANCECLUB DRUGS' HARM

Student union leaders have called on dance clubs to take steps to deal with 
the growing use of drugs such as ecstasy, acid and cocaine on ``nights on 
the town''.

There is a need for ``harm reduction'' policies because of the increasing 
popularity of the so-called class A club drugs among young people, 
according to the Union of Students in Ireland.

USI leaders say that club owners should introduce a number of measures to 
make their premises safer for patrons, including:

* Increased availability of free drinking water,

* The provision of `chill out' rooms, and

* Prompt reaction to emergency situations.

The call came as USI leaders met with the National Drugs Strategy Review 
Team and the Minister in charge of the strategy, Eoin Ryan.

According to a USI drugs survey in 1998, 80pc of students had taken an 
illegal drug and of these 21pc had chosen ecstasy, acid or cocaine as their 
first drug.

``This means that up to 30,000 students are choosing to take class A club 
drugs as their introduction to illegal drugs,'' declared USI president 
Julian de Spainn.

USI welfare officer Alison Gibney said the figures in relation to club 
drugs were a particular cause of concern with 86pc of students considering 
ecstasy to be part of the clubbing scene, while 62pc felt the dance 
policies of clubs to be ``not safe enough''.

Ms Gibney said the call for action by dance clubs could not be regarded as 
an encouragement to clubbers to use drugs, rather a harm reduction policy.

``These are standard procedures. We would hope that students, through 
information and education, would reject drugs,'' added the USI welfare officer.

``But if we fail to reach them, this is the best we can do.''

USI also hoped students who used club drugs did not drink alcohol as this 
made the effects worse.

And it is calling on Mr Ryan to include students as a specific target group 
within the national drugs strategy.

``There is a lack of Government-sponsored drugs information material aimed 
specifically at this group,'' declared Mr de Spainn.

Ms Gibney said anti-drugs campaigns had been targeted at primary and 
second-level pupils and parents, but not at third-level students.

USI says the materials currently available are of little use, with a 
specific design and format required to get the message across to 
third-level students.

The students union also wants research into the use and misuse of drugs by 
students with particular focus on the reason why they take drugs.
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