CHILDREN AS YOUNG as 12 are being threatened by drug dealers over debts they have built up because of their cannabis use.
Sadie Grace, CEO of the National Family Support Network (NFSN), said drug-related intimidation has always been a problem but the people affected by it are getting younger.
“The threats were always violent, always . The of money is probably very similar. But the age of people being intimidated has changed, we are hearing more about very young people accruing debts for weed, which is not something we were seeing before,” she told TheJournal.ie.
“And they would be well into their drug use or their drug dealing before their parents know about the debt. When they can’t contain it anymore, that’s when their parents would know.”
Her organisation works with up to 80 groups across the country to support families impacted by drug use, including those who are targets of drug-related intimidation.
Drug users and families can be subjected to physical violence, damage to their homes, sexual violence or threats of violence as well as verbal threats. In 70% of cases where a family member is the target of a threat, it is the drug user’s mother, according to research by the NFSN.
Source: Michelle Hennessy, The Journal, 28th January 2019
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