THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARDl
The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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There is still a reluctance in some quarters to recognise that, although alcohol is legal it is just as much a drug and just as damaging as illegal drugs. Alcohol remains a nudge-nudge joke among its users, but there is nothing more corrosive in a community than this stuff. It damages lives and destroys families.
During a survey carried out by Rhyl Youth Action Group (RYAG) last year, nearly 700 young people who live in Rhyl were asked a number of questions. One was, “What things do you dislike most about Rhyl?” The second most frequent answer – only narrowly defeated by Litter/Rubbish – was Drug/Alcohol Problems.
Pity, therefore, that a councillor seems to be running a campaign in Rhyl in favour of alcohol use, along the lines of wanting to ‘keep our pubs and clubs in business’ and wanting them to stay financially accessible – by which I think he means cheap. This championing of a problematic drug seems to me highly irresponsible.
This week I was pleased to note that the Westminster Government has reversed the downward classification of cannabis and returned it to Class B status. Cannabis users talk in terms of ‘sensible use’ and ‘social use’ just as alcohol users talk of ‘sensible drinking’ and ‘social drinking’.
For the sake of young people, we ought to be sending a clear message: Kick all this stuff out of your life; you can live perfectly well without it.
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