Is it true that 82pc of Irish third-level students have tried illegal drugs? That's a massive figure. It comes from a study called the National Student Drug Survey.
This online survey received valid responses from 2,700 students, a big number. But were these students representative of the entire population of students, or were those students most likely to use drugs also the ones most likely to take part in the survey thereby distorting the result? That's an important question.
One reason it's important is because Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the minister with responsibility for our drugs policy, is using the figure to argue that criminalising drug use "is not deterring drug use in Ireland".
He suggests that what it might be doing instead is "stigmatising people and preventing people from getting help".
So you see why it's important to find out whether that 82pc figure is accurate? It's important because a government minister is using it as part of a campaign to win backing for a change of approach to drugs that are currently illegal.
The campaign to liberalise our drugs policy is a perfect emblem of the way we conduct many public 'debates' in Ireland. We get one point of view, bombard the public with it and then change policy in the predetermined direction.
It would be a bit like conducting a trial and allowing the jury to hear only the case for the prosecution before deciding whether the accused is guilty or not.
What's on trial in this case is our national drug policy. It is accused of causing more harm than good by criminalising drug users.
Source: David Quinn, Irish Independent, 13/11/15
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