Sdaly, ecstasy has become the recreational drug of choice of many young people and is now being traded openly in Dublin city and other areas at between £8 and £15 per tablet. It is predicted that its price will fall to around £3 per tablet by the end of the year. It may be significant that one of its street nicknames is "smarties", a small, brightly coloured sweet. Ecstasy is being marketed by the drug dealers as a "safe" recreational drug with few, if any, side effects, as a sort of "prozac" for dancers.
However, the reality is very different, brought home sadly again yesterday when a 19 year old youth collapsed and died after taking ecstasy at a rave disco in the Point Depot. We all know he was not the first victim of ecstasy. It has been estimated that up to 14 people may have died after taking the drug, which would not include the unknown number who have suffered severe side effects which can affect the heart and other internal organs leading to severe dehydration and over-heating of the body.
I understand that many people who take ecstasy would not dream of taking so-called hard drugs such as heroin, fearing that the health consequences of taking such hard drugs would be too great. However, they appear to believe that ecstasy is a safe drug over which they have personal control.
Obviously the requisite message is not getting across, which is that there is no such thing as a "safe fix". While its control comprises one part of the solution — dealt with extensively last evening — there are limits to what can be done to control a drug as easily concealed as is ecstasy. Nonetheless there should be increased vigilance on the part of the Garda and dance promoters at any event where ecstasy is known to be sold.
Another component of the solution is to tackle its supply at source at international level. We are all aware that Ireland does not produce the drug ecstasy, that it is imported largely from the former Eastern European countries. I am informed that its manufacture is easy, that border controls are few and it is predicted we shall have a glut of it on the market very soon, if that is not already the case. The sad reality is that it may cost a mere £1 for a pill in the very near future.
There is obvious need for concerted action at European Union level to prevent the drug ecstasy entering the European Union initially, together with support mechanisms to help the authorities in countries such as Czechoslovakia and Hungary where I understand the drug is being manufactured.
In addition to the outside forces we must also educate our young people about the dangers of ecstasy but it is my understanding that nothing significant is being done at present in this respect. We have to take the message to the classrooms and the venues where ecstasy and similar substances are consumed or abused. We must ensure that young people who may be tempted to buy some type of drug are fully informed of the health consequences. We must ensure also that clear, no holes barred leaflets are distributed in public houses or venues where concerts or dances are held. I recognise that regardless of all the warnings that may be given, ecstasy will still be taken by some vulnerable young people.
One of the effects of taking ecstasy is severe dehydration and to compensate for that, abusers must drink copious amounts of water. I understand the proprietors of some venues in the city and elsewhere at which ecstasy is taken are charging for water in the full knowledge that the drug is being consumed on their premises. We must examine the possibility for introducing measures that will make organisers and proprietors responsible for the substances consumed on their premises to ensure they do not become the silent accomplices of the drug dealers.