Recently the Irish Bishops’ Drugs Initiative received a letter from a heartbroken parent outlining the dangers of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a synthetic cannabinoid openly sold in vape shops across Ireland.
The mother had written to public and media representatives urging an immediate ban of HHC, warning that HHC was highly addictive and unregulated and saying it posed severe mental and physical health risks to young people including psychosis, addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts.
HHC has been regulated or banned in several other European countries including France, Austria and Denmark. However, Ireland has failed to act, leaving many vulnerable to its effects.
The parent was reaching out following the experience of her teenager with HHC. Her 17-year-old daughter had become addicted to the drug, purchasing it legally with ease. Now struggling with severe mental health issues, she has been forced to leave school and is under psychiatric care. This parent claimed that the family sought help from authorities, only to be dismissed due to the legal status of HHCs in Ireland.
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This story is just one of thousands replicated across the island, affecting all age and socio-economic groups.
We have always had a difficult relationship with alcohol in this country. Excessive drinking is tolerated and accepted, regardless of its damaging and often-catastrophic effects. Back in 2002, I undertook a survey of drinking habits among the senior students at a school where I was teaching at the time. Of the 84 students who took part, 77 said that they drank alcohol and 33 of that cohort said that they began to drink at the age of 13 or 14. So, even 23 years ago no one was shocked or surprised at that level of alcohol use among young people.
Alcohol abuse is still a big problem, but added to that is the widespread and relatively cheap availability of drugs such as cannabis and cocaine. Attempts to deal with the problem have focused on the prosecution of the user, while the gangs who import and sell drugs have often escaped effective punishment.
These gangs have developed a network of intimidation and violence that leaves countless families struggling with the stigma, fear and debts – all the consequences of a loved-one’s drug addiction brings.
In my work as interim-chair of the Family Addiction Support Network (FASN) in the northeast region I frequently receive reports from staff and volunteers of the growing problem of addiction, a problem that still doesn’t receive the funding and publicity it needs if it is to be controlled effectively. FASN, despite its tremendous work with families, faces a year-on-year struggle to operationally survive due to the lack of resources.
Prayer and abstinence can help overcome substance addiction
While funding and publicity are hugely important in the fight against addiction, a focus on the spiritual side of the person is also vital. Today is Temperance Sunday, a day of prayer for those who struggle with addictions of all kinds.
We are fortunate in Ireland to have Venerable Matt Talbot to draw on as an example of how prayer and abstinence can help overcome substance addiction.
In 2025, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Matt Talbot. Born in 1856 into a poor working-class family in Dublin, he was the second of 12 children. He left school early to go working for a wine merchant and, later, to work on the Dublin docks. In both locations, Matt had access to alcoholic drink and by his early teens he had become an alcoholic. For more than 10 years he was a severe addict.
At the age of 28, Talbot was at his lowest point and, in a state of destitution and despair, he decided to give up alcohol. The only way he could do it was to rely on prayer and abstinence. Once he embraced his faith in God, Talbot never drank alcohol again.
It was only when Talbot died suddenly on the way to Mass on June 7th, 1925, that those preparing his body for burial discovered the true extent of his penitential acts. (On his death, a chain was found to have been wound around Matt Talbot’s waist, with another around an arm and a leg, and cords around the other arm and leg. In 1975 he was declared Venerable, a step towards canonisation.)
There is little doubt that Talbot overcame his addiction through the willpower, determination and courage that his spiritual practices brought to him.
If we ignore the importance that spiritual belief plays in the wellbeing of so many then true healing will remain out of reach
Willpower and faith are important attributes that organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous have always recognised as a prerequisite for success. Overcoming addiction needs a reliance on a higher power if goals are to be achieved.
Ultimately, if we are to deal effectively with the drug and alcohol problem that we are experiencing in Ireland, then we must see the issue as primarily one of healthcare and resource it adequately.
Intervention is needed in the life of the person who has started on the road to addiction. This intervention may take the form of education, physical therapy or psychological help. If we ignore the importance that spiritual belief plays in the wellbeing of so many, or the importance of religious faith in the creation of a balanced and well-functioning society, then true healing will remain out of reach.
Talbot’s example, I believe, along with annual moments such as Temperance Sunday and the Lenten season that begins in a few days on Ash Wednesday, remind us that it is only from within – from the Spirit – that personal and communal restoration and renewal can be attained and maintained.
Bishop Michael Router is the auxiliary bishop of Armagh and liaison bishop with the Irish Bishops’ Drugs Initiative
