Drug test kits for Moyross parents

The worried parents of vulnerable teenagers in the troubled Moyross estate in Limerick should be assisted by the new regeneration agency to acquire subsidized drug testing kits, a spokesman for Republican Sinn Fein said today.

Mick Ryan from nearby Ballynanty, chairman of RSF in the north side of the city, said that already parents have bought the kits and tested their teenage children.

In the latest case there was a 13-year-old boy who was acting strangely and out of character. He mother tested him and evidence of drug taking was ascertained in his system, said Ryan.

His worried parents had purchased the product, which tests for the presence of drugs working on the same principle as a pregnancy kit.

We are now calling on the powers that be to fully explore this development as it could deter young boys and girls from illegal drug taking.  If parents notice their teenage sons and daughters acting strangely or out of character, they could use the kit to either confirm or discount their fears.

These kits are on sale for around €15, but we feel that as areas like Moyross have serious social problems in relation to poverty and deprivation, a subsidy should be provided to concerned parents by the newly appointed regeneration boards.

The kits could be made available through the schools, thus side stepping the need for worried parents to alert the police to the possibility of illegal drug taking and saving their children at the same time from a life of misery.