A new MTV comedy show which centres on the drug-dealing of two young teenage boys has been criticised by drug action groups and by parents, who fear the show will glamorise taking drugs.
The show, to be named Top Buzzer, is a British-made comedy series which follows the fictional lives of two cannabis dealers, "Lee" and "Sticky", as well as the various characters who drop by their flat to "score". The show is due to air in Ireland later this year.
The show is aimed at the station's target audience of those aged 16 to 24. This age group makes up the majority of the network's 17 million viewers in Europe. However, the National Parents Council said children much younger than 16 regularly watch the channel.
It has emerged that MTV's lawyers have taken advice from the British broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, over what is acceptable when portraying a drugs lifestyle. However, as yet Ofcom has not seen or approved the series, which may fall foul of its standards.
MTV Networks Europe has defended the show, saying the time was right for a series that treats the drug as the relatively harmless hobby of "typical young urbanites".
Such comments have angered anti-drugs groups, which described any attempt to "normalise the practice of dealing" as "very irresponsible".
The international music station is available in Ireland on most basic cable television packages, as well as on Sky Digital subscription. Sky Digital currently has over 320,000 customers in the Republic.
Mr Ciaran Perry, of Coalition of Communities Against Drugs (COCAD), yesterday told The Irish Times: "It is our feeling that anything that glamorises drugs or drug-dealing is a bad thing. If the show portrays the practice in such a way it would send out the wrong message to young people watching. To portray such goings on in any kind of a comical or light-hearted way is highly dangerous."
The president of the National Parents Council Post Primary, Ms Eleanor Petrie, has urged parents of children watching the station to be cautious in relation to the new show.
She said: "If parents let their children watch this show, they should also talk to them about it."