Long before they go to college, Irish teenagers are mired in the drugs culture and parents must be wary.
Some Irish children are dabbling in drugs from as young as 11 or 12, according to one of the country's leading addiction counsellors.
The trend is occurring in families where elder siblings or parents are abusing substances, said Donal Kiernan, the chairman of the Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellors.
Mr Kiernan, a former garda sergeant who works as an alcohol and addiction counsellor at UCD, said it was becoming more and more common for students to have their first experience of drugs well before reaching third level.
But he said the fast evolving situation was "not a case of drug dealers preying on students at the school gates".
Rather it is what he termed "peer pull" which is attracting more and more young people to experiment with drugs in secondary school.
"Peer pull is where because your mates are doing it, you want to do it, even though they are saying to you that you shouldn't do it," he told the Sunday Independent.
"It is sensational to have this picture of the demon drug dealer hanging around outside the school. But the fact is that is not what is happening.
"It is older brothers or sisters or older siblings' friends who are supplying the drugs.
"Young people will follow their older peers. That is why it is crucial for parents to watch who their child is associating with. It is better for them to be with their own age group."
Mr Kiernan said that for some young people "starting drugs at 11 or 12 is common in the family".
Source: Shane Phelan, Irish Independent, 24/01/16
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