Cannabis is widely used in schools in Kilkenny and students are dealing in many other drugs, a report on substance misuse in the county has found.
The report, by the Kilkenny Drugs Initiative, says drugs are being dealt in the toilets, on the corridors and outside the front gates of schools.
The KDI, a cross-community body which includes representatives of the Garda and the South Eastern Health Board, conducted a six-month study of substance misuse in Co Kilkenny. It found that the average age of solvent use is 12. Children aged 10 and over are taking alcohol, ecstasy use begins at 14, some 16-year-olds are using cocaine and people "of all ages" are using "speed".
One group of secondary pupils said young people were pooling their money, buying blocks of hash and then dealing it or smoking it in schools.
The study did not attempt to establish the number of people using drugs in Kilkenny as this was considered an "impossible task". Instead, focus groups were employed and one-to-one interviews conducted to ascertain what substances were available, who was using them and why.
It also examined the effects of drug use, including cigarettes and alcohol, on individuals and families and proposed an action plan to deal with the problem. It found that the use and misuse of substances was not confined to any age bracket, gender or socio-economic background.
