Teenage cannabis users who end up dealing are like the “oppressed becoming the oppressor”, according to a new study.
Young people are often entrapped by drug debts and experience escalating levels of violence, inflicted both on them and by them.
The families, including parents and younger siblings, of these young dealers are targeted and threatened by people higher up the distribution chain.
The findings are contained in a detailed study of eight cannabis users-turned dealers, aged between 15 and 18.
The study was conducted by Catherine Comiskey of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Philip James of Youth Drug & Alcohol Service, HSE Addiction Service and Bobby Smyth, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, TCD.
The research centred on five males and three females, all of whom were in treatment for cannabis use.
Seven of the eight were daily users of the drug and first cannabis use ranged from age 11 to 15.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, The Irish Examiner, 23/04/20
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