Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan yesterday launched a drugs strategy for young people living in the growing Blanchardstown area of west Dublin which aims to limit the harmful effects of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy among regular users.
Speaking at the launch at Blanchardstown civic offices yesterday, Mr Lenihan denied that the strategy, which focuses on both individuals and the wider community, promoted drug use.
"Nobody is advocating that anyone should take drugs, but where you have a phenomenon of drug abuse, then clearly once that phenomenon is there you have to reduce it as well as abolish it," he told The Irish Times.
"That has been recognised in treatment programmes for a long time now. I mean the whole use of methadone, for example, is predicated on that assumption . . . Clearly anything that reduces the use of harmful drugs is welcome."
"The argument about harm reduction is a philosophical argument. I didn't go into that argument today. I made the point we've enough of them [ regular drug users] out there - both lawful and unlawful - and we clearly need reduction strategies. That goes for drugs, it goes for alcohol as well."
As part of the harm reduction strategy for Blanchardstown,which is to be used where strategies advocating abstinence have proven or are likely to prove ineffective, a strategy worker with specific responsibility for the area has been appointed. A drug awareness week was also launched yesterday.
The strategy worker will help to develop harm reduction measures and programmes to minimise the negative consequences of drug use - including preventing the escalation of drug use and reducing drug use and drug-related criminality.
According to the strategy report, there are approximately 1,000 young people in the Blanchardstown area who are engaged with projects that are wholly or mainly targeted at young people at risk. Just over half of these are 10 to 14 years old, while about a quarter are aged 15 to 18, and would initially be the primary target group for harm reduction measures.
In his foreword to the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task force report, entitled Harm reduction strategies and young people in Blanchardstown, chairman Philip Keegan notes that cocaine and benzodiazepine use are on the increase in the area.