Precarious positions of understanding: the illicit drug landscape and drug education in Ireland

Abstract

Set against a backdrop of diminished interest in drug education outside of school settings in Ireland, this paper draws from 10 years of professional practice in the field of drug education and prevention, to reflect on illicit drug use in Ireland and on the lay understandings of illicit drug use encountered by this practitioner. This paper sets out to achieve four things; paint a picture of the Irish illicit drug landscape and of lay understandings of drugs and drug issues; highlight the emergent issue of people obtaining fake drug information on the Internet; explore drug education as a field of scholarship in Ireland; and reflect on 10 years of practitioner experience within the field. Given the complexity of the drug landscape and the proliferation of questionable drug information available online, this paper argues that drug education is an appropriate and worthwhile response to precarious understandings of illicit drugs and drug issues. The paper suggests drug education warrants revival within the Irish context, particularly given the pace of change in both the drugs and online landscapes. To conclude, this practitioner urges other practitioners and scholars with an interest in drug education within the Irish context to revive and advance the field.

Keywords:

• Drugs
• illicit drugs
• drug education
• scholarship
• Ireland

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express his gratitude to the two anonymous reviewers who provided constructive suggestions on strengthening this paper. The author would also like to thank Gerard Roe for his comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper.

Declarations & conflicts of interest

The views expressed within are solely the author’s. Some of the material contained in this paper was presented at the National Drug Education and Prevention Forum in a paper entitled ‘Drug Education and Prevention in Ireland: Past, Present and Future?’ on June 13th, 2019.

Disclosure statement

The author of this paper was previously employed in a Drug Education and Prevention Project, funded by a Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clay Darcy

Dr Clay Darcy is a sociologist specialising in the areas of masculinities, men’s recreational use of illicit drugs, and drug education. He spent over 10 years working as a Drug Education and Prevention Development Officer with a Social Support Agency in Ireland and prior to this worked as a Teacher of Art, Craft and Design. He currently works as an Assistant Lecturer in Applied Social Studies and Social Care at Technological University Dublin, Blanchardstown.