Over 500 DCU students have signed a petition calling on the Students’ Union to hold a referendum on their stance on the legalisation of cannabis.
For the SU to hold a referendum, a petition must have been signed by 2.5 per cent of SU members. With around 13,000 students, the quota of approximately 325 signatures appears to have been passed.
An anonymous survey by the SSDP at their booth during clubs and socs week revealed the majority, if not all, of the student body surveyed know someone who has taken an illegal drug. DCU Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) chairperson Dan Kirby said that although they are still analysing the data it is clear from the survey of student drug use that almost 100% of students know someone who has taken drugs.
The survey asked whether participants had taken illegal drugs, and whether they knew anyone who had taken an illegal drug. It also asked why students have taken drugs and whether current drug laws act as a deterrent to potential users.
The fact that drugs are illegal was not major deterrent for the respondents who said they took drugs. They cited their reasons for drug use as enjoyment and curiosity. The respondents who said they did not take drugs said that they had no interest. Kirby said that the results of the petition and the data collected indicate that current drug laws are failing.
The organisation are still analysing the data which they expect to publish on the DCUSSDP website in the next few weeks. However they say that it is clear that people in DCU are in favour of legalising some drugs.
Conor Sheehan
Leave a Reply