26 JULY 2010

McCREA - TOUGH ACTION ON DRUGS WELCOMED

 
DUP Mid Ulster Assembly Member Ian McCrea has welcomed the news that police have arrested two men in connection with the seizure of cannabis worth some £11,000. Officers also seized measuring scales in the raids in Cookstown and Moneymore which will now undergo forensic tests.

Speaking today the DUP MLA, who is also a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board said:

"Drugs such as cannabis receive a somewhat milder press than they deserve with celebrities and the media glamorizing the use of such substances as a bit of harmless fun, yet it is through cannabis that many young people begin down a road of self-destruction.
 
Scientific evidence has shown that those who use cannabis are more likely to develop mental health problems and memory loss and to move on to the consumption of harder drugs such as heroin and ecstasy.

These drugs, had they been sold by criminals in the Cookstown and Moneymore areas would have had a very damaging impact upon the local community especially our younger population. I am pleased therefore at the success of the recent police operations to stamp out this illegal trade in harmful drugs.

I hope that we will see further raids and more of this poison being taken out of circulation."