The abuse of alcohol is so widespread among young people that it is "commonplace" for pupils to miss school completely or fail to participate in class because of hangovers, second-level teachers have claimed. The teachers say that while heroin abuse is confined to a small number of young people, the abuse of alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy is common throughout the State. The teachers call for a shift in Government policy from concentrating almost exclusively on deprived urban areas where heroin is prevalent to also tackling the problem of soft drugs and alcohol in every "town and village across the country". [continues 310 words]
Several judges and the Garda Commissioner have called for changes to the probation and welfare service, particularly for young offenders. In submissions to a government-appointed expert group, judges said young offenders who are unsuitable for prison are receiving jail sentences, while other prisoners who should serve longer sentences are being released early. The judges told the Expert Group on the Probation and Welfare Service the needs of young offenders were not being met, and increased re-offending was the result. [continues 340 words]
The Labour Party has said a call by Mr Emmet Stagg TD for cannabis to be decriminalised was "strictly a personal view" and it was not planning to change its current policy. A spokesman for the party's spokesman on justice, Mr Brendan Howlin, said Mr Howlin did not share Mr Stagg's views. "We don't support any change in the law," he said. However, he said the party had opposed the Criminal Justice Act which provides for mandatory 10-year sentences for possession of drugs, including cannabis, worth pounds 10,000 or more. [continues 372 words]
A grim picture of the lives of Dublin prostitutes is depicted by a study showing that 38 per cent of female sex workers using drugs have attempted suicide, and two-thirds of those who are mothers do not live with their children. The Eastern Health Board surve y also found that 25 per cent of the sample group of prostitutes had been diagnosed with depression. The EHB's Women's Health Project, which forms part of its AIDS prevention programme, undertook the study among 77 women working in prostitution in the city. Some 48 per cent of those interviewed said they had been physically assaulted by a customer, with 65 per cent reporting the incident to the i.Garda. A quarter said they had been forced to have sex with a client against their will. [continues 240 words]
