Motley - Volume XIV - Issue #6 - Drugs

Volume 14 Issue 6 March 2021

A CONVERSATION WITH NILE RODGERS

PARTY DRUGS SURVEY

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES LEONARD

DRUGS EDITION

Masthead

Editorial Staff

MOLLY KAVANAGH

HILARY BARRY

ALANA DALY MULLIGAN

NIAMH BROWNE

KANE GEARY O' KEEFE

GRACE CLARO

Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Designer

Current Affairs

Features & Opinions

Entertainment

Fashion

Molly is a recent UCC English graduate who is now doing an MSc in Government and Politics. She's also our former Deputy Current Affairs Editor, and is overseeing Motley's brand new Wellness Section!

Hilary Barry is currently a student of Music and English and co-host of the Break it Down Podcast. As the the new graphic designer she hopes to bring her love for design and illustrations to the pages of Motley.

Alana Daly Mulligan is an award-winning spoken-word “artivist” & filmmaker of Déise extraction. With work tackling social issues by playing with heartstrings, she hopes to apply her artistic formula to her role as Motley current affairs editor.

Prolific writer and notorious flirt, Niamh Browne is currently completing a BA in art history and philosophy and is this year's features and opinion editor for Motley Magazine. Winner of the HotPress outstanding achievement award in 2018, she has since been staff writer for Motley.

DEPUTY EDITORS Current Affairs Features & Opinions Entertainment Fashion

Stephen Moynihan Emer Walsh Rebeckah McCarthy Kaia Purcell

STAFF WRITERS Head Staff Writer Current Affairs Staff Writer Fashion Staff Writer Contributing Staff Writer

Jack Coleman John Hunter Emma Treacy Conor Daly

ONLINE TEAM Online Editor Social Media

Kevin Quane Erica Shelly

Kane is in his final year of Film and Screen media with English in UCC. His passions are for all things film, music, video game, and literature related, which makes him a potent competitor for that one artsy round in the table quiz.

Kane is still waiting patiently for his emo phase to end.

Grace Claro has been a fashion photographer with Motley since 2018.

She is taking the MA in History this year.

Working with the magazine all began with a zealous email to the editor. This is something which she encourages everyone to do, as Motley is a wonderful platform to amplify student voices .and creativity.

PHOTOGRAPHERS Carly Fitzgerald Rebecca Dineen Diego Leon

CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Miranda Corcoran Eoin Shortiss Emily Osborn Ruairí Walsh Sarah Collins James Kemmy Kate Bisogno Ciara Browne

Conor Daly Ronan Watters Orla Leahy Amano Miura Ava Ní Loinsigh Sinead McKweon Imasha Costa Grace Catherine Morey

This publication is made from 100% recycled paper. Motley welcomes letters from readers, emailed to editor@motley.ie. Motley is published by Motley Magazine, The Hub, UCC, Western Road, Cork. Printed by City Print Limited, Victoria Cross, Cork. Copyright 2021 Motley Magazine. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All efforts have been made to ensure that details and pricing are correct at time of print. Motley magazine does not take responsibility for any errors incurred. This magazine can be recycled either in your green bin kerbside collection or at a local recycling point. Images provided by Unsplash.com, Pexels.com, Pixabay.com.

Vectors provided by Vecteezy.com and Freepik.com

2 | MARCH 2021

from the

Editor's Desk I

n essence, people take drugs because they enjoy the effects that they produce. Flooded in the hazy synaptic pools of dopamine, serotonin and endorphins, two divergent states typically occur, and this schism is the difference between those who can and cannot safely take psychoactive substances. That is to say, some lay back floating on the meniscus of chemical pleasure, as if they were tourists on some ephemeral jaunt, and others get dragged out by the winds of intoxication, and shortly after drown. This divergence unearths the realities of modern life for many young people.

The tides of moralism are finally shifting, and the things we felt we had to articulate in the shadows can now be brought to light.

University life is rife with experiment - we attempt to redefine ourselves each passing day, bursting out through the soil of our prior conceptions of self. We experiment with new people, new places, new thoughts, new opportunities - and often this means we experiment with drugs. Unlike the majority of these experiments, which are carried out in the cold light of day, a stigma, an unconscious and socially inebriated silence surrounds the use of recreational drugs. We taper off of the subject at nearly every public corner, and overdose on the social confines that facilitate this behaviour - fear, guilt and most damaging of all - illegality.

When society is this unresponsive to the realities of modern life - all the while surreptitiously partaking it’s time we call the paramedics, and perform CPR on a flatlined discourse.

These were the thoughts that drove my decision last May to pursue this month’s theme.

Being a mature student has meant that the usual tropes of student life haven’t been fully applicable to my college experience - I have had my days of neon lights, with the clinking of glasses and lighters, followed by long walks to meet unofficial pharmacists. As I don’t use psychoactive substances anymore, I feel more confident in my ability to be objective. We need to talk about drugs, our

Matthew Moynihan

Editor In-Chief relationship with them, and I believe most importantly, the State’s policy responses to the same. Orla Leahy expands on this later in this issue, but suffice to say, the longer we criminalise the silent but inevitable drug use going on around us, the longer we keep ourselves in the jail cell cycle of silence, incident, consequence, murmurs, repeat.

This month’s issue should be consumed with the behaviour of a media addict, tweaking for the vast array of takes on drugs across current affairs, entertainment, fashion, features and wellness.

In this month’s issue you will definitely find something just for you. We interviewed three-time Grammy Award winner Nile Rodgers, who has sold over 500 million units and 75 million singles worldwide, and waxes lyrical about youth activism, and how recovery from addiction has allowed him to further pursue his social goals. We speak to UCC’s very own Étáin, about symbolism, imagery and the drug-haze melodies of her new single “Bone House”. James Leonard passionately tells of his recovery from heroin addiction and breaking down the walls of stigma. Deputy Editor Molly Kavanagh writes about harm reduction and sensible drug policy, whilst also conducting a comprehensive study on UCC students’ attitudes to drug-driving with Stephen Moynihan. In fashion Kate Bisogno explores the links between online consumerism and late-stage capitalism and Kaia Purcell unpacks CBD in skincare.

Let me reiterate what I’ve said in the previous five issues.

This is your magazine. If you have an idea, we want to hear it. Back yourself. I’ve been delighted to see so many new writers email me looking to get involved and I’m extremely proud of my team for helping new writers to develop their skills.

Seeing your first article go to print will give you a dopamine rush like no other, so if you so choose, chop up lines of ink instead.

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ISSUE No6 - MARCH 2021 MOTLEY.IE

CURRENT AFFAIRS

FEATURES

ENTERTAINMENT

FASHION

Grammy award winning Nile Rodgers speaks to Motley about music, activism and addiction

Life After Heroin: A Conversation with James Leonard

An Image of Melody: Étáin on the Visual Inspirations Behind her new Single “Bone House”

P. 20

P. 26

Night Moves: Fashion shoot featuring Elin Jernström & Grace Claro

P. 10

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P. 36

Wellness

ARE YOU LIVING THE ‘COLLEGE DREAM’?

BY CIARA BROWNE

T

he stereotype based around the ‘college dream’ is one that has been spoken about and challenged by students for many years in Ireland. Now that I have you thinking, I want you to ask yourself; What is the college dream? As a young adult in the last two years of your secondary school education, you are told that the time you spend in college will be the best years of your life. You leave secondary school thinking you will find yourself and excel in all your classes while partying every night, socialising and sleeping in until 3pm the following day, right? This is the stereotype that I was under when I left school and began my studies, however, it didn’t take long for the penny to drop and wipe that vision of the college dream from my memory.

Loneliness, demanding and depression. Those are three words that you don’t expect to read in this article from the title. Those three words sum up the first few months of college life for me. What you are not told in school is how challenging it is moving away from home and living in student accommodation with people who are as similar to the strangers on the street you pass every day. You are not told by your parents or family how to balance your college work with your social life and how to fit in; How to tell your new friends that you can’t go out with them as you have a paper due at 9am. From my experience, the days got longer and more frustrating, I wasn’t just losing sleep, I was losing my appetite and the fun energy that once surrounded me.

The words “I’m fine’ came out of my mouth more often than intended and soon I was lying to both myself and the people who cared for me. This is loneliness; the feeling of being just fine. This is demanding; the excess feeling of pressure from college work. This is depression; the long drole days and knowing you are alive but feeling almost dead.

If you feel this way, you are not alone. On average, 85.6% of the student population suffer with their mental

health as a result of the change and the challenge of attending university. This can be through anxiety, depression, eating disorder, and suicidal thoughts. After months of denial I accepted that I was suffering and that I needed help; This is ok. Asking for help is the first and most vital part of recovery.

UCC is a tremendous college and if there is one thing I learnt in my first year of studies it is that you are never alone. The college offers student counselling and development services free of charge, a social anxiety programme and several different societies and clubs that you can join and avail of. I am now a second year student and I have both good and bad days. During this global pandemic it is extremely difficult as all classes are online and I, as well as everyone, am missing the social aspect of meeting lecturers, tutors, and friends around campus. What I would suggest for your wellness is to take a break when you feel overwhelmed, do something you enjoy be it reading a book, listening to some music, or sitting down and enjoying your favourite movie. Exercise is your new best friend; statistics have shown that people who exercise report having 1.5 fewer days of poor mental health a month, compared to people who do not exercise.

If you are a first year student struggling with the new change, or a returning student beginning to feel overwhelmed then this is the time to ask for help and admit you are not ok. It’s ok not to be ok, and the sooner that we normalise this topic of mental health the better it is for everyone. There are many helplines that you can contact free of charge, I will leave some options for you subsequent to this article, there is also the UCC counselling services and groups discussed previously. The ‘college dream’ I went to college under the illusion of didn’t make me happy, but the college dream in which I am living now is weightless and full of opportunity.

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Wellness

Mental Health & Party Drugs AS PART OF MOTLEY’S ISSUE ON DRUGS, WE DID A SURVEY WHERE WE ASKED STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH PARTY DRUGS IN RELATION TO THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. HERE’S SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DOING DRUGS AND MINDING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH.

BY MOLLY KAVANAGH

6 | MARCH 2021

CANNABIS

Cannabis, or marijuana, affects people’s mental health differently - some people avoid marijuana because it makes them feel incredibly frightened and paranoid, while others celebrate the medicinal benefits of the drug and smoke cannabis every day to relax. Sounds a little contradictory, doesn’t it? Scientists have done a significant amount of research to get to the bottom of why cannabis affects users so differently, and it comes down to a variety of factors including genetics, biochemistry, and even your biological sex.

This means that it’s difficult to gauge how smoking cannabis will affect you until you try it yourself. Fortunately, cannabis is an incredibly safe drug, especially in small doses, so it’s safer to experiment with cannabis than it is to experiment with other recreational drugs, such as cocaine or MDMA. Cannabis is at its most dangerous when used daily in large quantities, and there’s a lot of debate in the marijuana community in regards to whether or not weed should be considered ‘addictive.’ The National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States released data several years ago that suggested “marijuana use can lead to the development of problem use, known as a marijuana use disorder, which takes the form of addiction in severe cases. Recent data suggest that 30% of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder.” But the debate largely centres around the semantics of the word ‘addiction’ as opposed to the word ‘dependance.’ You can be physically or mentally dependent on a drug without being addicted to it, but for many frequent marijuana users, the technicalities of whether they’re dependent on cannabis or addicted to it doesn’t make a difference - when you feel as if you can’t stop smoking weed and its interfering with your daily life, then it’s a problem either way.

One student responded to our survey saying “Weed did wonders for my anxiety when I first began smoking, but then I began to rely on it too heavily. Now it’s the first thing I turn towards when I’m feeling anxious, and it just isn’t sustainable.” They went on to admit that “it’s difficult to think clearly now. I have a lot of brain fog, and it’s made me really unproductive. I feel stupid, and my tolerance is so high now that I hardly feel the effects of weed anymore, yet I still want to smoke it.”

Another student responded saying: “Cannabis is working wonders for me… Cannabis let's me take a step back and see the big picture. Whether I’m cleaning, planning my day, playing some games, watching YouTube, or listening to music- it gives me a nice boost. Being a chronic insomniac it helps me sleep too. This was the biggest benefit for my mental health.”

Cannabis can be incredibly useful for people suffering from appetite or sleep issues, but it develops into a problem when you find that you can’t eat or fall asleep

without it. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a chemical compound found in cannabis that doesn’t give you the euphoric effect of a high, but is known to be useful for treating anxiety, insomnia, and appetite issues. CBD is not legally considered a medicine in Ireland, and it can only be advertised as a food supplement - but it’s still worth looking into if you’re attempting to treat your anxiety without pharmaceuticals but don’t want to be high.

ALCOHOL

Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it slows down the functions of your central nervous system. This is why you’re not technically supposed to mix vodka and energy drinks (Monster, Red Bull, etc), which contain the stimulant known as caffeine. Heavy drinking can lead to depressing thoughts or aggressive behaviour because it increases the amount of serotonin and dopamine in your brain. Once you stop drinking, your brain becomes deficient in these chemicals and begins to go through withdrawal, which is one of the contributing factors to those pesky hangovers.

Because alcohol is a depressant, it can make you tired and intensify your negative thoughts. It’s common for people with social anxiety or pre-existing mental health conditions to use alcohol as a way to ‘loosen up’ at parties or social gatherings, but the chemical toll alcohol takes on the brain following a heavy night of drinking can actually make your anxiety worse. Drinking can also be used as a replacement for healthy coping mechanisms, creating a cycle that is difficult to break. Alcohol can also be chemically addictive, and you can become reliant on alcohol when your brain becomes addicted to the surge of dopamine you initially receive from drinking. Alcohol also lowers your inhibitions, making it so you’re more likely to engage in risky or unsafe behaviour that you might regret in the morning, which could compound your anxiety by leading to feelings of shame or guilt. One student shared that “specific drugs haven’t had an impact on my mental health in the same way that the situations the drugs got me into” have. Another student referred to the “extreme anxiety when hungover” as “the fear,” which “sometimes takes days to clear and is crippling.”

We asked students to share their thoughts and experiences with drugs and alcohol in relation to mental health, and several students responded by saying that alcohol negatively affected their mental health in the short term, often resulting in them feeling “very low” or “extremely depressed” the following day, or even two days. One student said that over-drinking made their anxiety worse because it led to them occasionally blacking out. As a result, they’d wake up with intense feelings of shame. One student admitted that their overconsumption of alcohol and recreational drugs led to it becoming their primary coping mechanism, and was extremely detrimental to their mental health.

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COCAINE AND MDMA

Cocaine is a stimulant, so the appeal of the drug is that it floods your brain cells with dopamine. It makes you energetic and euphoric, and this feeling can be addictive. But using cocaine regularly over a prolonged period of time can make your brain less sensitive to dopamine, meaning that you’ll need to increase the amount of cocaine you’re using if you want to achieve the same high you felt the first few times you used it, leading to neurological damage. You can also become addicted to the psychological effect of the drug, or feel as if you can’t have a good time without it. Many students will use the term “fried” when describing how cocaine or MDMA made their brain feel. “I used to take coke for a while… and I found that the morning after I’d been out I used to totally crash, and would be super unhappy all day. I also found that my brain was totally fried for a while afterwards (a couple of months).” Another student said: “The first time I used MDMA, I had no idea what a ‘comedown’ even was and I was caught totally unprepared. I felt miserable for an entire week afterwards and I’ve never been so depressed in my life.

It really scared me. I had a great night but it wasn’t worth the comedown.”

HARM REDUCTION

To reduce the extent to which drugs negatively affect your mental health, the most important thing is to make sure using drugs does not become your primary method of coping with unpleasant emotions, especially if you struggle with a chronic mental health condition.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS

If you’re taking antidepressants, there are other factors you need to take into account. Drinking while taking antidepressants can result in your medication not working properly, or in your blood pressure spiking. You’re also more likely to black out if you drink heavily while on antidepressants, and your medication just can’t help you the way it’s meant to. If you choose to drink heavily on antidepressants, you can keep yourself safe by drinking pints of water between each of your drinks, eating a substantial meal prior to drinking, and letting your friends know that you’re on antidepressants so they can help you if you become too intoxicated.

Taking cocaine or MDMA while on antidepressants is much more dangerous because your brain will be flooded with an excess of dopamine and serotonin, which may lead to serotonin syndrome. The symptoms of serotonin syndrome include confusion, fever, anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, agitation or restlessness, dilated pupils, loss of muscle coordination, and seizures.

Antidepressants such as fluoxetine, sertraline, and escitalopram regulate the amount of serotonin in your brain, so sometimes when you take MDMA on one of these medications you won’t even feel high. This leads to people taking more and more of the drug until they begin to feel the effects and if you take too much it can lead to serotonin syndrome, which has the potential to be fatal.

WHEN ASKED IF PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES AVOID USING RECREATIONAL DRUGS, STUDENTS RESPONDED WITH THE FOLLOWING: “If they have previous experience and understand how it can negatively affect them, then no, but mental health is so varied and specific. I think with good judgement it’s down to the individual.”

“It always depends on the person. Some drugs may help people with certain mental health difficulties.

I've heard acid/mushrooms can really help people with anxiety and body dysphoria but on the flip side someone with bad self esteem issues could have a bad trip and feel worse afterwards. Some people love milk, others are allergic.

Depends entirely on each individual, setting and dosage.

Never try recreational drugs for the first time unless you're in a comfortable setting with friendly people.”

“This kind of question is better answered by a medical professional. Anecdotally, I believe it depends.

8 | MARCH 2021

I'm excited to see the incorporation of dissociative and psychedelics into mental health treatment. There's huge potential for psilocybin, MDMA, ketamine and other drugs to be used in therapy and in daily life. Certain people should stay away from drugs. There are those with highly severe psychiatric disorders who will simply make things worse by partaking in certain drugs. Those on anti-psychotic medication for example are at risk as far as I can tell.”

“In Ireland at the moment no drugs are regulated and you never know exactly what you are getting. For that reason I would say that someone who has pre existing mental health difficulties should err on the side of caution or just avoid drugs altogether. Everyone is different and some people use it as an escape but it is the aftermath of taking drugs that can cause people to spiral even deeper into their mental health struggle that has to be taken into account.”

Would you consider your emotional relationship with recreational drugs (including alcahol) to be healthy?

Do you think your recreational drug usage has had a positive, negative, or neutral impact on your overall mental well-being?

36 RESPONSES

% 11.1 URE UNS

NO 19.4 %

NEUTRAL 27.6% POSITIVE 44.8 YES 69.4% NEGATIVE 27.6%

If you choose to use drugs, you should start with a very small dose and wait an hour or two before taking more. If you’re doing a large amount of the drug, or doing any drug for the first time ever, inform your friends and don’t mix the drug with alcohol. Stay hydrated while dancing, but don’t drink more than one pint per hour, and if you feel unwell or unsafe while or after doing drugs, call 112 or 999.

USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS: HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline: 1800 459 459 from Monday to Friday between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm The Samaritans: 116 123, available 24/7 Pieta House: Call 1800 247 247, available 24/7 or text ‘Help’ to 51444

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Current affairs

10 | MARCH 2021

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JILL FURMANOVSKY

NILE FREAKING OUT

RODGERS

SPEAKS TO MOTLEY MAGAZINE

BY SOME MIRACLE, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER, GUITARIST, COMPOSER AND PRODUCER NILE RODGERS AGREED TO TALK WITH MOTLEY CURRENT AFFAIRS EDITOR ALANA DALY MULLIGAN ABOUT MUSIC, ACTIVISM, HIS PASSION FOR CHANGE, AND HIS JOURNEY WITH ADDICTION.

BY ALANA DALY MULLIGAN “I was socialised to care about other people.

It's just how I was raised.” Nile Rodgers tells me on our call, you can hear it in his philosophy of sound and you can see it in motion through his outreach initiatives.

From his early days as a Black Panther activist in New York City to his legendary collaboration with Bernard Edwards forming what would become one of the most recognisable groups of the 1970s, Chic, people-power has always been a central theme in Rodgers’ work. After Disco was brutally killed in 1979 for being too Black, too gay, hedonistic, notoriously druginduced, and I suppose for having too many sequins, Rodgers went on to produce for and collaborate with some of the most exciting artists in the world. Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran, and more recently Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, among

(so, so many) others. With half a billion (yes, that’s billion with a B) units of music sold internationally, he has hooked the world on hopeful music that gets up and does the work much like the musician who makes it.

Born in New York’s Lower East Side and growing up with parents who had heroin addictions, life was difficult for Rodgers. But adversity gave him a hunger for activism and propelled him towards change, especially with the guidance of his late mother: “My mom fell pregnant at thirteen years old, she had me at fourteen. She was more my friend in a strange way than my mom and we were pals together, we were like buddies.

My mom was a kind person, and she taught me to be a kind person and I never even questioned that as I got older. So even when I was young, I was always doing community service and things like that and not for any

CURRENT AFFAIRS | 11

reason other than that's what I was taught to do...just like most people don't choose their religion, right? You're born and your parents decide that you're whatever you are and you somehow grow up being that, some of us get the wherewithal and the intelligence and the means to choose something other than what's been laid out for us. And those are the people [I’m] especially attracted to. But, my mom taught me to help people, and it just became part of who I was...

Helping somebody out who just wasn't doing as well as they could be”. Despite the social and economic problems that raged throughout the United States, it was a place united by American identity above all else: “You know, America used to be awesome,” Rodgers says, “I mean, we used to teach people civics and kindness. I wasn't that unique, all my friends were sort of like that...that's the America I grew up in, and now it's so totally different.”

As a response to 9/11, Rodgers founded the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF). Since then, the foundation has grown to become one of the international standards for youth empowerment initiatives, seeking to shine a light on the good work of young changemakers globally and connecting them with the opportunities to enact that change, taking solace in the words of the eponymous 1979 hit. “We really started out as purely an anti-bias organisation because we were being reactive, and then we right away realised that we needed to be proactive; we needed to not just respond to bad things that were happening, we had to try and help people who were already responding to bad things that were happening and we're trying to change those things, and that felt a lot, purer, and certainly, a lot more satisfying to us, even just spiritually. It just felt better to do something with 14 |doing MARCH 2021 people who are already something rather than trying to edify people.”

WAFF has helped establish platforms like TedxTeen, Three Dot Dash, Youth to the Table, and most recently, the Youth to the Front Fund which aims to platform the work of BIPOC activists under 30 fighting against systemic racism, injustice, inequality and inequity around the world.

Despite his work in empowering the youth of today to solve the problems of tomorrow, Rodgers has clearly defined lines between his work as an activist and his career as

12 | MARCH 2021

a musician saying he tried to keep his overt activism separate from his music: “I don't necessarily write about the bad things that I see going on because I think that I'm inclined to use music as a healing tool. Usually, to me, healing feels good. So, it would be a little bit confusing to what I typically do. And I'll tell you, this is my secret...if I have something that's made me feel bad, I actually talk about the solution rather than the problem. I don't necessarily have to identify the problem so much, because I think that we're all fairly aware of sadness.

When I was younger, I remember somebody told me that the only thing in life that's absolutely guaranteed is pain and suffering. So, those brief moments of happiness should be cherished because that's the stuff that's unique. Having a good time and, like, man, why am I going to talk about the pain and suffering because that's...ever-present!”

When Rodgers decided to “become a composer for [himself] and the rest of the world” as he puts it, he began the journey towards making human music based off non-fictional encounters in his own life: “every story I tell is real, and typically the ones that move me to write about them, are the ones that sort of made me feel good”, explains Rodgers, who while admitting using the occasional clip of fiction to fill the gaps of reality, writing happy music is as much self-care to Rodgers as it is to those who listen to it.

Asked what Rodgers is getting happy about for 2021, the response was unsurprising, the copious amount of new records he’s produced being unleashed: “I easily have one hundred records, if not more coming out this year. I've never had one hundred songs in one year in my life, and I've done a lot of songs!” With the pandemic continuing to disrupt live gigs and festivals around the world, Rodgers is spending lots of time writing new material: “the amount of records and songs that I have coming out, it feels almost uncomfortable to me because I'm competing with myself every day...I think that people are going to tire of seeing my name so much because it's absurd. And then, with Daft Punk breaking up and the whole thing online about that...I'm not accustomed to seeing my name in the media so much, and, and I'm not going to be able to avoid it because once you do the music it's out of your hands, right?”

In the last few years, one of the primary debates in the music industry is how out of your hands music becomes once you release it. From the large profit margins of streaming companies like Spotify, Tidal, and Deezer, to the gender wage gap and general inequality within the industry, I asked Rodger’s how can young creatives sell their music without selling out or compromising on their vision for a better world: “It is really difficult but the good thing is that if you love music, just like if you love any calling...the doing is really the reward...The reason why I've been able to go for such a long time is because I truly love doing it. I wake up every morning and I have problems to solve...So, anyone who wants to get into the music business, I think that right now is probably a great time. You can practice your butt off because you can't gig that much, so you can just be better, so by the time you hit the stage and the world is ready to see you – you are good because you don't have any other distractions. I think that changes are happening now in the music business that I feel really good about.”

The three-time Grammywinner was appointed to the Songwriters Hall of Fame where he has used his position to amplify the voices of women, something he has been working to do since he started with Chic in the 1970s. “Even though we were guys that had the [record] deal, we had women singing all the songs, they were the front people. We believed that they were the stars, we put them upfront”. Rodgers saw that women were the largest consumers of music and knew that collaboration with women was key. When it comes to the development of the musical landscape, he’s astonished by the progress: “It's incredible to me this is the world that I thought that I'd have when I was younger, and it's certainly the world that I tried to create.”

Rodger’s is also using his influence to address pay discrepancies in the music industry as the transparency of streaming becomes more and more lucid. “They pay us on

a stream as if it's a sale, but a stream is not a sale. When you stream a song, it isn't something tactile, like a platinum record. It's something that you access when you choose to access it but it's not something that you actually have right next to you like that, like this.”

At this point, Nile picks the platinum record, Diana, which he produced for Diana Ross, off his wall and shows it to me. What this does is raise the question of how we value music when in the last twelve months, the highest levels of music streaming on record occurred, but sights like the three floors of platinum records that Rodgers’ Connecticut home boasts is a rarity. Collective action is the approach being taken to address this change in music valuation: “Songwriters haven't gotten a raise for 75 years. We’re still at the lowest rung on the ladder and songwriters are the most important part of the business: without a song, there is no music business. So it's something that we're addressing now... which is hopefully from a position of power trying to bring us all together and speak with one voice.”

This unified voice and a relentless work ethic has guided Rodgers through the trials and tribulations that come with being human. One of the more challenging roads travelled was his journey to sobriety from a drug and alcohol addiction. Starting taking drugs at age eleven, Rodgers cites the extra strength honed from his youth as what pulled him through. “You almost walk through fire and, believe me, I mean I've died a couple of times, and all sorts of horrible stuff has happened. And I'm just thrilled to still be walking around” he says candidly. Not ignoring the struggle, he says of getting sober “it was so lifeaffirming because it reassured me that I could do what I had been doing high... without being high and I could actually enjoy it as much, if not more.” While both his parents dealt with addiction, it meant Rodgers became independent from an early age. “I got my first job at nine years old. [When] I got my job with Sesame Street I was probably 19 years

old, and I got that job because I was a good worker, I was very disciplined.

They could always depend on me to show up and even when I got drugged out and partied out, I was always at work.”

Rodgers is honest about his experience but refuses to give advice other than to do what he did – stay true to yourself. “I know that I'm a complicated person so I just try and do the next right thing, the next right step...Years ago, when I got sober, my therapist said to me ‘Jesus Christ, Nile, I can't believe you've had so many records and did this...that's what I call 'falling forward through life, and man, you are falling, but you are falling forward, and that's not necessarily a bad thing’. And that's why I don't give advice because I was falling, but I was somehow still making good decisions when I was somewhat impaired.”

It’s been said that Nile Rodgers has somewhat of a love affair with the Emerald Isle, and because we’re tremendously serious journalists desperate for some post-lockdown “Good Times” (you made it this far, don’t groan now), we wanted to ask Nile when Chic will be making a return to Ireland, specifically Cork: “As soon as we feel that it becomes safe and they, you know, allow us to do it. It's really difficult for us because, as you well know, our concerts are about engaging with people. I know my favourite part of Chic shows is when we invite people from the audience up on stage with us because most people never get to see what we see. And, fortunately, we've gotten to the point where we play. I don't think we ever played in less than ten, twenty, thirty or forty thousand people. Sometimes it's one hundred thousand, and you know we've played to as many as a million a few times, so that sight when people come on stage and look out – that's such a great thing to share with people who have never had that experience.”

CURRENT AFFAIRS | 13

PERFORMANCE

ENHANCING

DRUGS in professional sports and our personal lives CONOR DALY

14 |MARCH 2021

PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS AND ANABOLIC STEROIDS ARE THE LONG-STANDING EUPHEMISMS USED TO DESCRIBE CHEATING IN ELITE SPORT. THIS PHENOMENON USED TO BE EXCLUSIVE TO ELITE ATHLETES, BUT IS NOW FILTERING THROUGH EVERY SOCIAL STRATA, AND MOST WORRYINGLY, TO TEENAGERS. CURRENT AFFAIRS STAFF WRITER CONOR DALY REPORTS. Sports science and nutrition have made huge changes to professional sport over the last decade or two. If you compare the Munster Rugby team today and the one that lifted the Heineken Cup back in 2006 or 2008, the contrast is stark. Not only are players bigger now but they are also fitter and leaner. There are few clearer examples of this than front row forwards occasionally staying on the pitch for full games now, an impressive feat and one which shows the performance levels of the modern professional athlete.

These advancements however, have not discouraged some competitors from trying to get ahead through less than fair practices. One of the most impressive aspects of elite sport is the fact that it is, for the most part, a level playing field. The quality and fitness of an athlete are, genetics aside, determined by their training and commitment to their respective discipline.

And yet, performance-enhancing drugs remain a plague to sport, notoriously so in athletics and cycling. We continuously see individuals in the upper echelons of their sport use steroids as a means of getting an edge over their opponents, which has the potential to mar the enjoyment of watching events for spectators. When watching a 100m final for example, how can you be sure that the athlete who won legitimately did so? There is an element of trust involved in being sports supporters which is why it is so disappointing to see the same name in a headline months later being stripped of their title for doping.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has stringent measures in place to ensure athletes who infringe upon their rules receive the necessary sanctions.

Anyone who watched Bryan Fogel’s 2017 documentary Icarus will know that these restrictions have their loopholes. In saying that, these protocols have been tightened and since the exposition of the sophisticated Russian system for evading negative tests, Russia was banned from international competition for two years.

Russian athletes have now been granted permission to compete at the Tokyo Olympics but will do so under the name and flag of the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee).

Christian Coleman, the 25-year-old American sprinter, was recently banned for two years, meaning he is set to miss out on the next Olympics. His ban is not a result of a failed test, but rather three missed tests over a twelve-month period. His progression to the top of elite sprinting was one that many athletics fans were excited about. He was seen as a real potential challenger to Usain

Bolt’s records and someone who could be a contender for Olympic gold in Tokyo. Bolt’s records now appear all the more incredible, as many of his closest competitors and team-mates over the last decade or so have all been banned for doping or missed tests. Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Nesta Carter, Asafa Powell and now, unfortunately, another new name is added to that list.

Using steroids to attain an Olympic gold medal is one thing, but teenagers using it to attain what is perceived as a gold standard body is concerning at the very least. In the case of young men, adding additional testosterone to a body that already has fluctuating hormones is a danger to the health of the person themself but also the people around them. This increased level of testosterone does help to build muscle but it also has been shown to increase aggression.

The use of performance-enhancing drugs at the level of elite athletes is frustrating, maybe disappointing.

But, young people injecting themselves or taking tablets to attain a so-called “perfect physique” is alarming.

In relation to testosterone, taking this in the form of steroids poses a risk to male fertility, while other anabolic substances can thicken the blood and increase the risk of heart attacks and potentially heart failure. Just this month, CNN reported on a new study that points to the long-term impact of taking testosterone, potentially leading to low sperm count, erectile dysfunction and also organ damage.

The use of protein shakes is legal and even more popular among young athletes and gym-goers. In saying that, the risks do not diminish because you can buy it in a high street store, as long-term usage of these substances can also potentially lead to kidney damage.

A documentary by Reggie Yates back in 2015 highlighted the extent of steroid usage among the general population and the extreme actions young men were taking to mirror the physique of elite athletes. The episode entitled “Dying for a six-pack”, shone a light on dangerously obsessive fitness habits, the people behind the production of these steroids, and also a case where the side effects from these substances were a cause of a young man’s death.

As with any social issue, education is the first step. The root of this is based on societal insecurities around body image and overly competitive sporting environments: it is much more than just understanding the potential health risks of taking steroids. Young people need their mental and physical health to be put ahead of sporting achievement and ripped physiques.

The reason elite athletes look the way they do is because training and competing is their full-time job and they have every necessary resource to be at their peak performance. Putting pressure on young people to emulate these individuals while also being in school, college or employment is completely unrealistic, and our expectations need to be tailored to meet that reality.

CURRENT AFFAIRS | 15

Driven By Drugs MOTLEY SURVEY REVEALS NEED FOR SPEEDY EDUCATION

BY MOLLY KAVANAGH AND STEPHEN MOYNIHAN

D

rug driving is a problem which cuts through a large cross-section of Irish society. However, the prevalence it has amongst people of typical university-going age is worth emphasising - and it doesn’t make for pretty reading.

According to the most up-to-date statistics from UCD’s Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS), dating from 2019, over 25% of those who tested positive for drugs in their system while driving were aged 24 or under. This is the case despite less than half of people in this age group even possessing a driving licence, which suggests that driving under the influence of drugs is much more common for these people than amongst other age groups.

Noteworthy also is the significant gender disparity when it comes to testing positive for driving under the influence of drugs; 88% of those who did so in 2019 were male. It’s not a problem exclusive to any demographic, but in this case the writing’s on the wall. If you’re young and male, your chances of getting caught drug driving are significantly higher, and subsequently so are your chances of being disqualified from driving, fined, or imprisoned.

Cannabis is by far the most “popular” drug when it comes to driving under the influence according to the aforementioned 2019 annual report of the MBRS, with 1,766 (47%) of confirmed drug driving cases testing positive for it.

This was followed by cocaine at 23% and benzodiazepines at 13%. “Polydrug use”, when a driver suspected of driving under the influence tests positive for more than one drug, is also a cause for concern; this was found to be the case in 45% of specimens sent for confirmatory testing.

These confirmatory tests can be carried out by the MBRS via three different mechanisms. Firstly, if an individual fails an initial roadside drug test for cannabis or cocaine they are arrested and a blood sample is taken at the station before being sent to the MBRS. There is one caveat here; if the individual can provide a “statutory medical exemption certificate” to show they take cannabis for medical purposes and the Garda believes that their driving is not impaired, they will be let go. Secondly, a driver can be arrested and a confirmatory test carried out if an individual tests positive for benzodiazepines or opiates and the Garda believes the individual’s driving is impaired. This is an important point, as these drugs can be prescribed for legitimate purposes, so impairment or lack thereof is key. Thirdly, an individual can be arrested and a sample sent to the MBRS even if the test returns negative, if the Garda believes the individual’s driving is impaired for another reason.

16 | MARCH 2021

The number of specimens which fail a confirmatory test are miniscule; only 1% of those who initially tested positive for cannabis at the roadside were not confirmed by the MRBS. This is the case even for the drug with the worst record in terms of confirmation, benzodiazepines; in only 7% of specimens could benzodiazepine presence not be confirmed, and the majority of these were due to the poor quality of the blood/urine samples to be tested.

Why is this important? Because it dispels the notion that drug driving testing is fundamentally inaccurate.

The roadside tests carried out by Gardaí appear to be correct in the vast majority of cases, and even beyond this an expert body, the MBRS, is tasked with verifying these results. An overwhelming amount of evidence backs up the negative impact of drugs on one’s driving ability, meaning that drug testing is clearly an important part of keeping Irish roads safe.

With that in mind, Motley decided to survey UCC students to get a glimpse of their behaviours and attitudes when it comes to drug driving. Here are the results.

43 students completed the anonymous Motley Drug Driving Survey, and 7% of our respondents admitted to having driven under the influence of cannabis, cocaine, or heroin at least once. 7% told us that they were not aware it was illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis, cocaine, or heroin in Ireland prior to completing our survey, and 44% admitted to having been a passenger in a car being driven by a person under the influence of illicit drugs at least once.

The RSA Online Drug Survey from 2010 was conducted among 1,000 people between the ages of 17 and 34, and had somewhat similar results. For example, the RSA Online Drug Survey showed that 1 in 20, or 6% of, respondents had driven under the influence of recreational drugs at least once in the past, while a further 22% of respondents admitted that they had been a passenger in a car being driven by a person under the influence of drugs at least once, compared to the 44% figure presented by the Motley Drug Driving Survey.

The percentage of young adults driving under the influence of drugs in Ireland appears to be roughly the same in our survey as in the RSA survey conducted in 2010, with a 1% increase. However, according to our survey, the percentage of young adults hopping into the passenger’s seat of a car they know is being operated by a person under the influence of drugs has doubled.

The RSA surveyed 1,000 people in 2010 while Motley surveyed less than 50 people in 2021, so it’s impossible to infer from our results alone whether or not this figure actually doubled since 2010. I’d be interested to see how this figure

Do you think driving under the influence of drugs is more normalized or less normalized than driving under the influence of alcahol?

43 RESPONSES

Roughly, how many of your friends do you think would regularly drive under the influence of drugs?

43 RESPONSES

MANY 4.6%

UNSURE 20.9%

MORE NORMALIZED 32.6%

LESS NORMALIZED 46.5%

would change if the RSA conducted the same survey again in 2021. If this figure actually has doubled since 2010, then it’s important to understand why. Our approach to preventing drug driving is going to be tailored differently depending on whether the issue stems from a lack of access to public transport as opposed to stemming from a misunderstanding of how dangerous driving under the influence of drugs truly is.

When asked to share their own perceptions of how dangerous driving on cannabis, cocaine, and heroin is in comparison to alcohol, only 4.6% of students responded that driving under the influence of cannabis is more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. 53.5% of students believe driving under the influence of cannabis is less dangerous than drunk driving, and 41.9% of students believe it’s equally as dangerous.

In comparison, 16.3% of students responded that driving under the influence of cocaine is more dangerous than drunk driving, with 25.6% saying it’s less dangerous than drunk driving and 58.1% saying it’s equally as dangerous. Only one student (2.3% of respondents) said that driving under the influence of heroin is less dangerous than drunk driving - 48.8% said it was more dangerous than drunk driving, and 48.8% said it was equally as dangerous.

Alcohol remains the most popular drug detected during roadside screenings, followed by cannabis, cocaine, and prescription opiates. There’s limited data on how frequently heroin is detected in roadside drug screenings, and we believe the reason for this is partly due to the nature of the drug, known for being a powerful sedative (or a ‘downer’).

Heroin use frequently leads to drowsiness or a loss of consciousness, so people who have taken heroin would have difficulty operating a motor vehicle under its influence.

We also asked students if they think driving under the influence of drugs can make them a better driver, as

NONE 25.6%

VERY FEW 53.5%

ME SO 3% .

6 1

there’s a relatively common belief that smoking cannabis and driving, for instance, isn’t dangerous because it makes you drive more cautiously. The majority of students (65.1%) said no, while 27.9% said sometimes, and 7% said yes.

Chairman of the Road Safety Authority, Liz O’Connell, has reported that the number of roadside screenings testing positive for traces of cannabis, cocaine, and benzodiazepines has doubled since the beginning of this year, despite traffic volume falling to an all time low as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Irish Times, 2,537 people were caught driving under the influence of drugs by the end of 2020, up by 113% from 2019, and “Gardaí were also catching people drug driving on all days of the week and any time of the day, rather than the traditional spike in intoxicated driver cases usually associated with weekends.”

More people in Ireland are turning towards drugs to cope with the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and our survey has shown that there is some uncertainty among students in regards to how dangerous drug driving is. 90.7% of students told us that while they were growing up, the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs were spoken about less than the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. Now more than ever, we think it’s important to implement more programmes dedicated to educating children and young people about the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs.

When asked what actions the Irish government should take in reducing the amount of people driving under the influence of drugs, students suggested expanding public transport routes, implementing more educational programmes in secondary schools, and legalizing drugs nationally.

CURRENT AFFAIRS | 17

Features

It’s time we called a truce on the war on drugs ORLA LEAHY WRITES FOR MOTLEY AS PART OF A SERIES ON WHY THOSE WHO ARE DRUG ADDICTS SHOULD BE TREATED AS PATIENTS, NOT CRIMINALS. HOW CAN IRELAND LEARN FROM OUR MEDITERRANEAN NEIGHBOURS? Reading David Sheff ’s novel, Beautiful Boy, opened my eyes to the reality of drug addiction. As a society, many of us have ill-conceived notions, much unconscious bias. We tend to believe that addiction is a path chosen, that an addict’s background can be blamed, and that criminalisation is the only treatment for drug abuse. Through Sheff ’s exploration of his son’s drug addiction, I have learned that addiction is a disease, not a choice, that anyone can become an addict, and that criminalisation doesn’t always resolve addiction, it often exacerbates it.

Sheff paints a horrifying picture of the way addiction is dealt with globally. Prejudice and stigma cloud our perceptions and hinder the development of research into treatment opportunities. It is difficult to source worthwhile rehabilitation programmes that cater for individual addict’s needs and those deemed suitable are egregiously priced.

Education systems fail to adequately inform us of the true nature of addiction, leaving us incompetent to recognise early signs of the disease, to intervene or to stop the disease’s development and growth in individuals.

In 2001, Portugal launched their drug decriminalisation programme. The Drug Policy Alliance group has illustrated the astounding results, from a substantial increase in voluntary entry to rehabilitation programmes, to significant decreases in overdoses and infections like HIV. (52% of new HIV infections were caused by drug use in 2001 compared to 6% in 2015).

Prior to the programme, only one per cent of drug-related arrests were for simple possession for personal use. Portugal never saw the criminalisation that today’s USA (85% of drug-related arrests) and Ireland (73% of drug-related offences) sees for mere possession of drugs for personal use, yet Portugal has reaped long-term rewards for their programme. This begs the question, what level

18 |

of reward would the USA and Ireland experience with the implementation of a similar programme?

It is most concerning that the current criminalisation of drug possession for personal use disproportionally affects society. Citizens from marginalised socio-economic backgrounds and groups face greater criminal charges, with those of ethnic or racial minorities three times more likely to be arrested for a drug-related offence in the USA. Similarly in Ireland, while there is no breakdown of those arrested into socio-economic groupings, 66% of those in treatment for opiate usage of heroin were unemployed and 10% were homeless in 2016.

Portugal’s programme centres around strategies targeted at reducing harm, primarily education on the effects of addiction and the treatments available to treat addiction.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has conducted research into the negative effects of criminalisation for personal use possession in Ireland on human rights. Most prevalently, the right to health and the right to privacy are hindered. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been in existence for 72 years. It is deeply saddening to think that over seven decades later, such rights are not being realised for some of society’s most vulnerable, the victims of a disease as harmful as addiction.

Sheff drew my attention to former US President Nixon’s declaration of two wars in 1971, one on cancer and the other on addiction. Whilst cancer has become more treatable, destigmatised and subject to a rapidly increasing survival rate, drug addiction has gone seemingly unwatched.

It is time for drug addiction to be treated as the war Nixon envisioned. From my overview of our current perception of drugs, such a “war” must begin with a comprehensive education programme, founded on the principal’s that Portugal’s programme has been. Education has the power to destigmatise addiction, to initiate the introduction of decriminalising simple possession for personal use and most importantly, to save lives.

DECONSTRUCTING

The Male Gaze THE ORIGINS OF THE MANIC PIXIE DREAM ADDICT FOURTEEN YEARS AGO, THE CELEBRATED TEEN DRAMA ‘SKINS’ WAS AIRED. SINCE IT’S RELEASE, ‘SKINS’ BECAME EMBLEMATIC OF HEDONISTIC ADOLESCENT CULTURE WITH THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF FIRST LOVE, FAMILY DRAMA AND DRUG EXPERIMENTATION. ONE CHARACTER HAS BECOME A SPIRITUAL TOTEM OF THIS SHOW- EFFY STONEM. GIRLS WANT TO BE HER AND MEN WANT TO BE WITH HER. MOTLEY’S EMER WALSH DIGS DEEP INTO THE MANIC PIXIE DREAM ADDICT TROPE AND EXPLAINS WHY IT’S HARMFUL TO YOUNG AUDIENCES. Effy was no stranger to drug use. Her frequent engagement with various substances added to what appeared to be psychotic depression led to her institutionalization in the show's fourth season.

Piggybacking off ‘Skins’ audience in the current era, HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ has gained similar viewership among adolescents. Both shows follow a similar structure of dedicating episodes to specific characters while tackling various issues from drug use to sex to mental health. Similar to Effy, ‘Euphoria’s’ main character, Rue, faces a similar story of drug abuse, mental illness and hospitalization.

Although their stories mirror one another in various ways, how their stories are told differ significantly, with Effy's depiction heavily entrenched in what is known academically as the Male Gaze. As feminist film critic Laura Mulvey explains, “In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly.”

Simply put, Effy’s story of drug abuse, mental turmoil and recovery was made sexy for viewers, specifically male viewers. This depiction is then passed onto female viewers, who see themselves solely through a lens of objectification and male standards.

As the instruction sheet for teen dramas continues to evolve and as awareness of the Male Gaze among the masses grows, increased caution has been exercised to reduce the impact of the phenomenon, exemplified by the

depiction of Rue’s character in ‘Euphoria.’ Faced with similar tribulations, ‘Euphoria's’ writer Sam Levinson commits to portraying a much less romanticized account of Rue’s story.

Never is this commitment proven more than when Rue, who at the time is experiencing withdrawal from painkillers, lashes out at her friend/drug dealer in an act of agonising desperation when he refuses to sell to her. The scene, absent from glamorization, makes for a genuinely uncomfortable watch by refusing to shy away from the soul corrupting nature of substance withdrawal and the immense strain that addiction can cause within friendships.

Compare this scene with that of Effy’s portrayal in ‘Skins.’ Even in her lowest moments, she is still adored. When she falls into a bad trip and runs alone through a forest, the glistening sparkle of her eye-makeup ceases to fade. When she lashes out at Cook, pushing him to the floor, he saves her from an oncoming truck before sharing a kiss near the spot where she escaped death. When institutionalized and forced to address her most repressed, traumatic experiences owing to the demise of her mental health, the focus is shifted to her psychiatrist who is naturally, obsessively infatuated with her.

Every traumatic experience Effy endures can be viewed from Mulvey’s “active/male and passive/female” perspective. Her turmoil is but a silent image depicted for the sole purpose of male action, which reduces her trauma down to how easily it can be rectified by a male character.

While ‘Euphoria’ also places a large emphasis on male action, it does so without reducing the experiences of female characters to a silent, passive subject. The show hosts a multitude of active women whose stories refuse to revolve around their male counterparts.

Is ‘Euphoria’ completely devoid of the Male Gaze phenomenon? No, but is it a step in the right direction? Absolutely.

‘Euphoria’ proves that it is possible to depict women’s experiences of drug use and mental illness free from the anticipated perception of male audiences.

As Mulvey explains, “It is said that analyzing pleasure, or beauty, destroys it.”

So let’s keep at it.

FEATURES & OPINIONS | 19

LIFE AFTER HEROIN

A Conversation with James Leonard IT WAS JANUARY 2020 WHEN JAMES LEONARD FROM KNOCKNAHEENY, CORK BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME. HIS STORY OF ADDICTION, IMPRISONMENT AND HOMELESSNESS OFFERED THE NATION A PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD INSIGHT INTO THE TRIALS FACED BY THOSE LIVING IN AREAS SUBJECT TO DEVASTATING NEGLECT AND STIGMA.

BY EMER WALSH

S

peaking to Tommy Tiernan on his RTE show, Leonard explained that Knocknaheeny, “was probably the most deprived area in Cork,”. An area where the absence of suitable role models led to the idealisation of joyriders and drug-users among its youth. Speaking on the lack of opportunities offered in the area, Leonard eloquently put it, “You could walk to UCC in about fifteen minutes from my house, but it may as well have been a million miles away.”

After the imprisonment of his father at a young age and the abandonment he felt from the education system at secondary level, James started experimenting with various drugs. The initial thrill and seemingly inconsequential nature of his behaviour was quickly replaced and it wasn’t long before a harmless act of recreation became an all-consuming dependency.

As James explained it, “The craic left me.”

After a ten-year period of heroin use, recovery, relapse, and short-sentence imprisonments, James Leonard presents himself today as a strong, dedicated and inspiring man on a mission to educate and support those with a similar story to himself.

Were you nervous before going on the show?

Leading up to it, no, I wasn’t nervous. The ten minutes beforehand though, I thought to myself, ‘What the hell have I gotten myself into?’

Tommy had never met me before and I had never met Tommy. I was worried that he would have no mercy on

20 | MARCH 2021

me. I didn’t know what his experience was with drug users, he could have been mugged by one, I just didn’t know. It was very risky.”

How did you find re-watching the interview after?

“I couldn’t watch it properly for a long time because I was so nervous thinking about how my story would be received.

I thought people would see me and think, ‘who does this guy think he is?’ When I first tried watching it, I didn’t like my accent. So I only watched it properly in November, and I could see that I came across quite well and it was actually a really good interview.”

Did you receive many opportunities as a result of your appearance on the show?

“President Michael D. Higgins actually rang the show looking for my contact details. So, I got a phone call from RTE asking me if they could give my phone number to Michael D.

“I got a phone call after from his personal secretary, so when it's safe to do so I will be joining the president in the Áras. Something to look forward to anyways.”

You have had significant academic success in recent years, did you always consider yourself academically inclined even when you were younger?

“I always felt I was smart. I knew I was capable in primary school but I hated secondary school. I got into a lot of trouble, the teachers weren’t great and my behaviour wasn’t good due to things happening at home. I needed help and support.

That just wasn’t on offer at the time.

I had no stake in my own education. CAO Points, never heard of them. Applications, SUSI, all this was never on my radar, so college was never given a second thought.

I always felt I had the ability but it was never nurtured or encouraged. When I thought about college, I only pictured posh people from the south side.”

“It was only after I went through recovery that I contemplated returning to education. Going back as a mature student offered fewer distractions. I was older, I knew

what I wanted in life and I had my eyes on the prize.

So I started in the College of Commerce, moved on to UCC, got my bachelors, my masters and now my PhD. I had the help of some incredible lecturers and tutors that saw the potential in me and nurtured it, and from that, I’ve been published in international journals, I’ve written for local and national papers, and I have a chapter coming out soon in a British University Press book in criminology.”

Did you always want to do a PhD or was that only considered after completing your Masters?

A masters and a PhD were not on my radar at all during my undergrad. I initially thought, ‘fucking hell if I could get through three years of a bachelor’s degree then I’d be doing alright.”

It was only in final year that I started getting really good grades and lecturers would pull me up after class and encourage me to apply for academic scholarships. So I applied and I ended up getting one. I was delighted, and it meant that I could do a masters for free.

There was an award’s ceremony that October and the Dean of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences described us as ‘the best of the best.’ My wife was next to me and I turned to her and said ‘did you hear that now?”

That was my proudest moment in UCC.

In the meantime, I got a scholarship to do a PhD and things just snowballed. I always had it in my head that I was only

going to do this once, so I might as well do it the best I can.”

How did the idea for the Two Norries Podcast come about?

“After my conversation with Tommy, I had thousands of people reaching out to me for support and guidance, and I thought, ‘How am I going to help this many people?’ So that's how the idea of the podcast came about. We made it, put it up for free on YouTube and Spotify and it has become very popular.

I think in the last month we had over 100,000 downloads which is insane for a podcast. It's a great resource for students as well, as we tackle a lot of social issues with words from academics, psychologists as well as people with lived experiences.”

Where do you see the Two Norries one year from now?

“We have about 4,000 subscribers now, and I would like to get that to 10,000 by the end of the year. It’s a big ask, but with the way we’re going, it’s not unrealistic.

I just want to grow the channel, I want more people listening and watching it.

It's also going to be shown in Irish prisons which is great, along with various drug treatment centres and addiction rehabs around Ireland too, ensuring that the people who need it the most also have access to it.”

Obviously, drugs play a large role in the college experience, and often, students with little to no prior experience are thrown into the deep upon arrival to university. What

advice do you have for students when it comes to drug use?

“I think it's better to abstain because if you never try it, you don’t run any risk. In reality though, people will try it, it's normal for people to experiment, especially for those who are out of home for the first time and want to exercise their freedom. So it's all about being careful with what you’re using.

Don't use alone, don't use too much, put limits on your dosage and make sure you’re getting it from somebody you trust relatively well.

Every time you take a drug, you’re putting your life into the hands of a drug dealer, and let’s be honest, they’re not the safest hands for your life to be in. It's about doing your research, having your eyes open going into it and knowing the risks. If you are going to use them, enjoy it because they can be fun when used in the right and appropriate way.”

What is the future of recovery and support for those suffering from addiction?

“Decriminalization. We have decriminalization for people caught with small quantities once or twice, but realistically, that isn’t relevant for 99% of people.

If you’re struggling with addiction and you get caught twice, you’re not going to be miraculously cured, you’re going to get drugs again. But for a student at a house party on College Road, they’ll get away with it as that’s the demographic it helps.

It does not help anybody like me. It does not help anybody going through

addiction or homelessness, they’re still treated like criminals. It just goes to show the class bias in the policies created by middle and upper-class politicians who see this as a way to primarily protect their children and grandchildren.

For people in more deprived areas, however, the status quo will remain for them.

“The introduction of the supervised injection centre in Dublin is a great step though, but it will take another few years before we see the same steps being taken in Cork.”

Do you want to see more supervised injection facilities across Ireland in the future?

“Definitely. These are places where people can use intravenous drugs safely.

Users can benefit from clean equipment, healthcare and a reduced risk of overdosing.

There’s no risk of bloodborne diseases being transmitted such as HIV or Hepatitis because people aren’t sharing needles and it's also a place to signpost treatment options.

A lot of people in addiction would never go near a doctor or seek medical treatment, they neglect themselves. So when they’re coming to you, you can help them.”

“Once they’re alive, things can always be turned around.”

James Leonard is the perfect example of this.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE TWO NORRIES PODCAST YOUTUBE CHANNEL OR ELSE LISTEN ON SPOTIFY.

FEATURES & OPINIONS | 21

15 Minutes

BY IMASHA COSTA

a bump, a high. loneliness and heartbreak devours me, the fine lines neatly pressed. 15 minutes. ecstasy and pleasure; remind me of times i was dancing with you. ‘dancing queen’ plays in the back of my mind; i reminisce stories that we shared in the crawling darkness. 15 minutes. a high; i want more, i need more. crave, the touch of your broken fingers as i am lifted again. 15 minutes. crave more, more of the trill of an invisible touch. 15 minutes. the world travelling under the blink of an eye; my heart beats against my rhythm.

15 minutes. pleasure, loneliness consumes me.

15 minutes. subtle quietness but loudness – your laugh echoes.

15 minutes. i start again. your invisible love, present. i will not stop – 15 minutes i repeat – feel your invisible touch again.

22 | MARCH 2021

A Thousand Tricks

BY SINEAD MCKWEON

We look into the mirror of carnival tricks Drink, Drugs, Beauty We hide, we waste and we cover our fears and our shame. tears streaming screams echo hands clasped before us we pray, we pray, we pray.

Our voices raw from crying out in desperation to be fixed our minds lost, no longer our own we see the ads every which way, trapping us in a box of lies that show how it should be, tell us that we need to be repaired and taunt us with our flaws.

When will we look, when will we see? we are more than enough we are beyond perfect You are you and I am me.

We look into the mirror set upon the wall and see all of those things, a million imperfections making each and every one of us Irreplaceable.

FEATURES & OPINIONS | 23

Prescription

BY AMANO MIURA

“Is it doing anything for ya?”

Well, I’m not sure to be frank.

Though my dreams are more like VR now a nightly heart attack.

“You won’t get hooked now will ya?”

Well, my doc she says I can’t.

Though there’s comfort in the morning gulp, knowing something’s got my back.

‘Suppose it’s been a long time coming, years of rebound back to black.

Perseverance read as weakness - serotonin she doth lack.

“How long must ya stick with them?”

Until I can own the past and steer this boat toward the distant gold not navigating back.

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The Liquidity of Affairs

BY AVA NÍ LOINSIGH

It's because of her in the early hours that he screams and shouts, A liquid mistress in the night she sashays in and lures him out, So sweet and warm that like so many others he'll never be the same, So part of him that her poison courses through his veins, Life is hard but she softens the edges, gives him the taste of a dream, He is of course unbeatable now she's on his team, She comforts him as he cries and at her feet he purrs, He's served with an ultimatum it'll have to be me or her, The man he slumps slightly, unsteady as he thinks, With a watery smile, what an easy decision "It'll have to be the drink"

FEATURES & OPINIONS | 25

Entertaiment

An Image of Melody

ÉTÁIN ON THE VISUAL INSPIRATIONS BEHIND HER NEW SINGLE BONE HOUSE FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF HER SINGLE ‘BONE HOUSE’, KANE GEARY O ’ KEEFFE SPEAKS WITH ÉTÁIN ON THE WONDERS OF MUSIC PRODUCTION, VISUALS IN MUSIC, AND THE VALUE OF CONNECTION IN THE CREATIVE ARTS.

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he sun stretches from Meath to Cork as I sit down across from Étáin Collins, known simply by Étáin to her fans. Soaking up the light of a Leinster window from my own place in Cork city (where the sun shines brightest), I video chat with Étáin as she basks in the success of the singer-songwriter’s newest single, Bone House. We agree to pretend that my Teams background of a high end apartment is in fact my actual bedroom, and get to talking about the release of the new track. “I was lucky that I got to record [Bone House] because I won the UCC singer songwriter competition last year with the Music Soc. The prize was you got to go for a day to Wavefield recording studio”. Étáin is quick to praise those who helped her with the song, while also drawing attention to her UCC connections, which are of course the secret ingredient to any and all success. “Brian at Wavefield was great with suggesting things to add to the song,”Will we add this or do this like we can try this” and it was just so exciting. I love that sort of collaborative thing you know”. The hard work definitely seems to have paid off. Bone House, a folk pop ballad driven by Étain’s wistfully acrobatic vocals, reached a thousand streams on Spotify just days after its release.“I was so excited it was my little secret goal. I don't want to compare it to numbers but you still do and I was really, really delighted”.

Discussing the significance of streaming revenues in the wake of venues being closed, and the absence of concerts, Étáin highlights the value of having physical places of connection as a performer, “Obviously there are no gigs so you don't get to talk to people or have them come up to you.

So now online is the only way to see how the release is going and to connect with people”.

With Covid laying many roadblocks in front of the arts since March of last year, Étáin is one of many artists who has seen their creative process shift in the wake of these isolating times.

“I was just like, I don't know what to do here because nothing's going on and usually like things just happen and you write down little phrases or things and then you come back to them”. Despite this challenge, Étáin seems to have spun a positive yarn from this past year, renewing

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the passion of writing for writing’s sake. “It’s been so long now and I think I'm trying to get more into the habit of just writing. And if it's bad, it's bad and that's fine. It always builds towards making something better down the line”.

Music has had its work cut out for it recently, providing the backdrop to countless strolls around Fitzgerald’s Park and the Marina. Étáin speaks of the music she’s discovered during quarantine, praising the tunes of the Emerald Isle (as one would expect). “I was very late to The Murder Capital but I've been listening to their album a lot. I try to listen to a lot of Irish music. I think there's something so special about it, you can feel so connected to it”. We joke about the angry vibes conjured by The Murder Capital, which stands in stark contrast to Étáin’s more relaxed, soulful melodies. “I feel like I can listen to a lot of things and then it's different to what actually inspires my own stuff, like say with The Murder Capital and Fontaines D.C, I like the way their writing is very poetic, and I aim for that”.

As we zone in on the specific qualities of Étáin’s music, I try to uncover the origins of the more psychedelic traits present in the production of her single You’re a Picture.

“Happy Alone actually did the production for You're a Picture, and maybe it comes slightly with their influence. I do love that sound, the hypnotic, mesmerizing kind of sound. I don't know if that's what You’re a Picture has. I just liked that idea of a soundscape. I think that that kind of music feels very cinematic and I love when you can almost picture something along with the music”.

Talk of cinematic soundscapes allowed for a quick detour which consisted mostly of my rambling about Nine Inch Nails, and Trent Reznor’s conversion from industrial rockstar to Oscar-winning film composer. Despite my chattering on, the sidetrack ties nicely into a discussion about the overlap between the musical and visual arts. Étáin elaborates on Bone House’s cover art, and the inspiration behind the track’s visuals. “For the cover I just wanted something that captured what I thought the song was about.

For me it's the fact that ‘bone house’ is from Beowulf as a phrase that they use for your body, so that's kind of where that came from, the skeleton”. Étain is quick to follow up this somewhat dark revelation with an fittingly contrasting image of life. “I think the skeleton is slightly morbid, but, like with the sunflowers I was like maybe this is kind of hopeful and exact”. These chats about visuals bring the personal workings of Bone House to the surface. “For me Bone House is all about fragility, almost like looking back at your old self and looking

at how you are a new kind of thing. And so, I wanted it to be sort of hopeful with the tears on the petals to represent the status behind it”.

Étáin releases her music while also working as a postgraduate student. As such I take the opportunity to ask for the advice she would give to students of the creative arts who are hoping to one day find their place in the industry. “I would say that you should try to look in different areas. There are some really great podcasts like The Irish Music Industry Podcast, I listen to that all the time”. The trials of the past year have allowed Étain to observe just how interconnected the music industry really is. “There's this ‘She Said So’ Dublin thing which I've started going to which is an organization for women musicians. It's all online at the moment but they do workshops”. With these suggestions, the singer songwriter assures me that reaching out to others and staying observant is the key to getting ahead. “looking at how people in the industry are doing things, you'll notice that they're all connected and it doesn't seem so impenetrable”.

The country-wide sunshine continues to throw seductive winks at the both of us so we both click into the inevitable interview question surrounding the future. She

assures me that work is ongoing towards a music video for Bone House, which will build upon the petal visuals seen in the cover art. “It's just gonna be hundreds of pictures basically, and it's all based on that whole idea of the petals moving and they move into different shapes”. It sounds really great and takes inspiration from stop motion animation. I also hear word of some recording later in the year. “Hopefully in the summer we'll be able to do that again and then I'd love to release something at the end of the year”. Despite the sense of finality the question draws, we continue to speak at length about gigs, cinema trips, and the arts in general.

The fallout of weeks inside and away from fresh faces really comes through as good conversation becomes that bit more valuable. An agreement to make the most of the weather and those five golden kilometres completes a conversation defined by Étáin’s clear passion for music and the importance of connection.

Follow @_etain_ on Instagram Be sure to check out 'Bone House' and 'You’re a Picture' on Spotify

ENTERTAINMENT | 27

The Resonance of Sara Baume’s Handiwork During Lockdown

JAMES KEMMY REVIEWS A STORY OF LONELINESS, GRIEF, AND THE FRUSTRATION OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS.

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he “glorious, crushing, ridiculous” repetition of daily life is documented profoundly in ‘Handiwork’, Sara Baume’s third book and non-fiction debut. The West Cork writer’s latest release is essentially a portrait of the everyday experiences of an artist, detailing both the stimulating creative peaks and wearisome, jaded troughs.

Although released by Tramp Press in March of last year at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the thematic issues gently woven throughout this unusual book resonate powerfully a year on.

Through her unique narrative style, Baume explores feelings of isolation, exhilaration, and disappointment by employing motifs which convey the intricacies of her craft, the ghostly nature of memory, and strangely, bird migration patterns! Initially touching on the practical elements of what it is like to live and work as an artist, sentiments of grief soon permeate this narration as the writer encompasses the recent loss of her father into the overall story, linking his legacy as a pragmatic and withdrawn craftsman to her fundamental inclination towards the artistic trade.

The stylistic form of Handiwork is also quite striking, making great use of white space and sparse composition to reflect an intimate stream of consciousness.

For example, certain pages contain just one sentence, placed at the top or sometimes in the middle of the page. It seems as if this formatting is intentionally designed to represent one’s fluctuating bursts of productivity or general thought process, making the reader’s experience very insightful. Moreover, the text is occasionally interspersed by ethereal black and white images depicting wooden models of different bird species, all of which were carved, crafted, and painted by Baume herself. This illustrative addition complements the colourfully aesthetic writing style that she is renowned for. Overall, these fascinating meditations serve as a refreshing perspective on nature and art during the dull colourlessness of selfquarantine.

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Alongside the images of bird sculptures, ‘Handiwork’ is fragmentally dotted with references to various artists and writers whose works have influenced Baume in a meaningful way. Such observations mirror those dispersed throughout her acclaimed second novel A Line Made by Walking, in which the young protagonist, a recent art college graduate, possesses an encyclopaedic knowledge of contemporary art, citing various works intermittently throughout. For instance, Handiwork opens with an excerpt from English writer Stephen Knott who provides a thoughtprovoking commentary on artistic human creation. He argues that, in a capitalist society where people are bound and subjugated into constantly producing a defined material output, we consequently rebel in our free time by painting, drawing, writing, and creating things which are technically useless and intangible, but bring us sheer joy. Such a sentiment certainly strikes a chord during this painfully monotonous era.

Perhaps the most valuable contribution this book provides is its unusually intimate insight into the creative process of an artist and the key differences it highlights between various disciplines. Baume describes the silence that accompanies writing as intimidating and even “aggressive”, while sculpting and painting brings with it a constant “soft, sputtering racket”, the sound of her handiwork. Similarly, the enjoyable period of artistic flow is expressed as “utopia in a moment” while the anticlimactic dejection of a failed project can result in a staggering waste of time and ultimately lead to “outstanding” sadness.

Ultimately, the magic of Handiwork lies in just how multifaceted it is. This book is an utterly unique combination of transient memoir, artistic diary, and nature guidebook all at once, marking Baume as a highly singular and unconventional writer. By unpacking the overwhelming complexity of grief whilst discovering the therapeutic redemption of art and nature, an uncanny catharsis is achieved. This is a book shaped by loss but also energised and illuminated by life, ordinary, everyday life. Read during lockdown, Handiwork serves as both a currently affecting piece of writing and a beautifully escapist outlet.

INSANE FOR COCAINE GLAMORIZATION OF COCAINE IN POPULAR MEDIA

EMILY OSBORN LOOKS AT THE GLAMORIZATION OF COCAINE IN POPULAR MEDIA.

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he idyllic “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” lifestyle has been romanticised in media for decades.

This inadvertently has led to drug use itself being glamorised, with certain drugs adapting to this role more than others. According to a 2015 study, 7.8% of adults in Ireland have taken cocaine at some point in their lifetime. In recent years, cocaine has solidified its reputation in Ireland as a party drug, and as one publican described it in The Irish Times- it has become as popular as ‘having a packet of Tayto with a pint’. In pre-Covid Ireland, most students wouldn’t have been overly shocked to witness cocaine use in the bathroom of a nightclub. The last few months alone have seen a surge in people accessing rehabilitation services for cocaine addiction. But how did a once nefarious street drug climb its way up the ranks to become one of the most popular party drugs in the country? It’s easy to see why when we examine the imagery surrounding cocaine use in popular media.

Music genres can easily be associated with different kinds of substances. Bob Marley lovers often associate his music with marijuana, and many people are guilty of belting out songs by the Wolfe Tones after a few pints. Similarly, anyone who’s ever been to an Irish house party as a teenager is likely aware of Versatile’s music and the party drugs related to it. The duo writes music that (on top of being overtly misogynistic and racist) praises drug dealing and all of the ‘clout’ that goes with it. Given that the majority of people who can actually tolerate listening to their lyrics are below the age of 15, it’s not surprising how a young angsty teenager can be brainwashed into thinking that selling party drugs is a cool and edgy way to make money. Similarly, other secondary school disco anthems such as “Get on Your Knees” by MC Pat

Flynn glamorise cocaine ‘lifestyle’ to a huge extent:

“Have an ounce of coke and two ounce of weed; My head spins and I'm out for a good party”.

The lyrics are suggestive of the fact that the best nights out are drug fuelled and dangerous, without mentioning the side effects that drugs like these can have on a person.

On TV screens, cocaine is depicted similarly. In RTÉ’s Love/Hate, countless lavish parties occur in swanky southside apartments, incomplete without the mountainous piles of cocaine being snorted through €50 notes. It’s decadent. Outside of Irish media, films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Pulp Fiction offer this narrative that cocaine use is extremely upscale, a pastime that’s only afforded to those who have money to spare. Compared to drugs like heroin and methamphetamine which are frowned upon by the media and relegated to the corners of people’s minds as ‘a poor man’s drug’, cocaine receives star treatment on TV. Take, for example 1996’s Trainspotting - the heroin addicts portrayed are frequent jail-birds, who can’t hold down a job and would essentially sell their soul for the next hit. Cocaine use on the other hand is usually reserved for high class society, as if cocaine is a ‘perk of the lifestyle’ rather than what it actually is.

It’s clear to see from these various depictions why cocaine is revered to as high an extent as it is. Young teenagers, whether they would admit it or not, are easily impressed upon by this kind of imagery. It’s fair to say that artists and creators of this kind of media aren’t responsible for the impressions they leave on their listeners and viewers, but unfortunately with glamorization of this kind, teenagers are inclined to soak in the idealised narratives shown in the media than the comparatively more sensible, albeit dull, advice of the adults around them.

Sometimes, all that glitters isn’t gold.

ENTERTAINMENT | 29

EVERYTHING MUST GO AND ITS PORTRAYAL OF ALCOHOLISM

RONAN WAT TERS EXPLORES THE NUANCED PORTRAYAL OF AN ADDICTION IN DAN RUSH’S 2010 FILM.

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verything Must Go is not a perfect film. It could even be argued that it is not a film that looks at the horror of alcoholism with much depth. But for some reason after I saw it, I could not stop thinking about it. Like Leaving Las Vegas, this film focuses on a character who has lost everything due to his alcoholism. Unlike the former film , in which the main character is a suicidal screenwriter drinking himself to death, Everything Must Go offers a more hopeful message. The film still looks at the destruction that drink can bring upon an individual and both their personal and professional life. Everything Must Go thankfully avoids clichés in an effort to tell a story of how one man’s life swiftly falls apart and how he attempts to get some semblance of himself back on track. The film first caught my attention when I saw it featured on a list of films about alcoholism. The website it was featured on was for an addiction centre that treats people with various issues, including alcoholism.

The reason the film lingered in my head was that it did not portray the main character Nick, played to great effect

by Will Ferrell, as a raging drunk, but more so as a man with a problem, whose ways have finally caught up with him. Nick has lost his job and his wife due to his drinking. Locked out of the house by his wife with his belongings strewn all over the front garden, Nick obtains a three-day permit to have a lawn sale to sell all his possessions. As I mentioned, the film does not show Nick getting completely wasted to hammer home

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the point that he is an alcoholic. Instead of drinking himself into oblivion throughout the film, he only has a couple of beers while constantly bemoaning the state his life is in, which results in a more nuanced performance from Ferrell.

Along the journey he befriends both his new, pregnant neighbor Sarah and a young boy named Kenny, who watches over his things. From there we learn more about Nick and his problem with drinking, like the fact he was six months sober before relapsing. What strikes me about the film and a lot of stories concerning addiction is that Nick is a good, decent man, which is the most heartbreaking thing about the film. People unfortunately tend to stereotype alcoholism and the people afflicted by it, especially here in Ireland, where a person with a drinking problem is labeled as someone who is “fond of a few drinks”.

We could go on about the nature of the drinking culture in Ireland until the sun disappears forever from the sky. As I write this, St Patrick’s Day is only around the corner, a national holiday that has unfortunately become synonymous with drinking and people disgracing themselves on nights out in Ireland. Now, I’m not standing on a selfrighteous soapbox shouting about the evils of the can, I love a drink, I love a few in fact and I’ve most definitely disgraced myself on a handful of occasions. Unfortunately, I see in some of my friends the dangerous seed of a drinking problem being buried deeper into the ground, with every drop of alcohol consumed watering it down. A film like Everything Must Go was a breath of fresh air for me. The main character is not some superhero, or someone born on the wrong side of life, he’s just a normal bloke with a problem.

DRUGS N’

ROBOTS!

EOIN SHORTISS EXPLORES THE DANGERS OF RELIANCE ON RECREATIONAL DRUGS THROUGH THE NOVEL TURNED STAGE MUSICAL, ‘BE MORE CHILL’. RUSH’S 2010 FILM.

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know nothing about drugs. The biggest high I’ve gotten from a drug (besides alcohol) happened that one time I misread the recommended dose on a box of paracetamol.

But even I can see that there’s a lot of reasons why people would take recreational drugs. Some do it to unwind, some to help fit in with peers, or in other cases, some do it to try and escape personal problems. There’s a unique story, and motivation, behind every drug-user. And Be More Chill, the book (now turned musical) written by Ned Vizzini, does a great job of spelling that out for the reader.

Be More Chill’s narrative is an allegory for what can happen to someone who grows reliant on a recreational drug. Our story begins in a classroom, documented from the perspective of 16 year-old Jeremy Heere, who is very unhappy with his life. On top of only having one real friend, Jeremy feels looked down upon by all of his peers, to the extent that he even carries home-made “humiliation sheets” with him to keep track of the amount of times he’s mocked in one day.

Jeremy is desperate for a chance to climb the social ladder and be popular, and for him, that opportunity arises in a pill called the “Squip.”

When the Squip is first mentioned, the book specifically prefaces that “it’s not drugs.” And in terms of the narrative, that is correct. The Squip is a quantum supercomputer that, once taken, implants itself in the user’s brain and gives them instructions on what to do in order to make their dreams a reality. But it’s a blatant allusion to drugs. If the fact that it comes in a pill isn’t tell-tale enough, Squips are also illegal, and when Jeremy finally has a chance to get one, he has to buy it from a sketchy-looking guy at the back of a shoe-shop. If that doesn’t sound like a drug deal to you, I don’t know what does. It’s through Jeremy’s experience with the Squip that the book’s commentary on the effects of an over-reliance on recreational drugs emerges.

Similar to the high people experience from recreational drugs, the Squip starts out great. When Jeremy starts taking its advice, he suddenly becomes desirable and charming, and his social status skyrockets. Also similar to a drug trip, the Squip gives Jeremy a temporary escape from his personal problems. With the Squip’s advice Jeremy’s selfconfidence rises, and his self-loathing, that was predominant at the start of the book, starts to fizzle out. Be More Chill is a commentary on problematic drug-usage that takes the

positives ( from the perspective of the user) into account. For the vast majority of the book, nobody can honestly say that the Squip seems “harmful” for Jeremy. Hell, even I wanted one for a little while. But just as the book documents the drug-user’s experience when high, it also documents what happens when they come down.

Without spoilers, towards the narrative’s conclusion, the Squip inadvertently sets Jeremy up for a fall, destroying the reputation it had helped him build over the course of the book. Furthermore, just when things start to go wrong for Jeremy, the Squip suddenly goes quiet, leaving him to deal with all of his problems on his own. The high wears off and Jeremy hits rock-bottom, finding himself with all the problems and insecurities that he carried from the start of the book. All of his popular friends are gone, and the reader sees him vulnerable, and alone.

The book’s message here is pretty simple; recreational drugs can be fun, but they’ll never actually solve anything. The Squip started off great for Jeremy, but ultimately it only served as a temporary distraction from his real life. Be More Chill is humorous and enjoyable, but at its core is a valuable life-lesson that we could all learn from. .

BY PATRICK MANSELL

ENTERTAINMENT | 31

ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE A Cut Above the Rest?

ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE A Cut Above the Rest?

RUAIRI WALSH OFFERS HIS THOUGHTS ON THE NEWLY RELEASED SUPERHERO BEHEMOTH.

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ollowing years of fan campaigning, rumours leaked from cast and crew, and denials of its existence, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released on March 18th, 2021. The film, released and produced by the HBO Max streaming service, is marketed as Snyder’s pure, complete vision of the Justice League film, removing everything that Joss Whedon reshot for the film’s 2017 theatrical release. This is a release that has been anticipated for almost four years now, and a film that represents the passionate drive of Zack Snyder and the strong base of DC fans as a respectable and unprecedented cinematic release.

Unfortunately, the film is ultimately not a victory for creative expression and artistic freedom. Instead, it makes a reasonably strong case for the necessity of production and editorial oversight. The film hits the same narrative points repeatedly - case in point being Aquaman refusing the call to action about four times over the film's run time. That, coupled with Snyder’s inability to resist framing Jason Momoa through slow-motion melancholic strolls into the sea,

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renders the majority of the character’s scenes repetitive and frustrating. The use of slow-motion is an issue throughout the film, padding an already insanely long run time of almost four hours. It also makes the first scene in which the Flash uses his powers in slow motion less impressive because every character in this movie has that same effect applied.

Of course, the film is not without its merits. The characters of The Flash and Cyborg are given far more room to breathe in this version, with Cyborg in particular getting perhaps the best character arc of the film. Ray Fisher gives a really solid performance in the role, with a moment between his character and his character’s mother being the closest this film came to eliciting an emotional response. However, it is Snyder’s handling of these narratives that leaves much to be desired. Ninety minutes into the film, we finally come to the end of these two characters’ 'first acts’, long after these motivations should have already been established. It’s bizarre to be that far into a film – the length of many standard films – to still be setting up premises for two of the six league members. This isn’t entirely the fault of Snyder, as it highlights the central problem with DC’s entire slate of new films – it was a bizarre creative decision to attempt a Justice League

film without any set-up for half of its main characters.

This film, even with its runtime, struggles not only because it needs to establish the Justice League – but also because it needs to provide origin stories for Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash.

It also creates another issue, one that would affect each viewer to a different degree. These moments, the moments of goodness and, in the case of one Flash scene, greatness, are marred by the lack of connection with the rest of the film.

Sure, Cyborg’s character development is interesting, but when it doesn’t really go anywhere by the end, and his chemistry with the team leaves much to be desired, it makes it hard to properly enjoy the good moments.

The same is true for the moments of fan service and set-ups for sequels.

A solid chunk of the film, the epilogue in particular, is solely concerned with establishing plot threads, set-ups, and side characters for future projects set in this universe, which, as of now, do not and will not exist.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman is set in a separate continuity, and J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Superman reboot may not even feature Clark Kent, and certainly not Henry Cavill.

It calls into question, then, why so much of an already bloated film needs to be spent on these plot threads.

The answer, you may think, is because these plot threads were in Snyder’s original vision, and thus should have been restored here. But, in counter to that,

so much of this is so far from what was originally set for release. Of course, we’ll never know for certain what a completed Snyder version of the film may have looked like in 2017, but there is simply no way the film would have had the run time or aspect ratio it currently has. It again harkens back to the fact that, were it not for HBO Max, this would more than likely never have been finished at all. It is through the streaming platform that the film can be released at this length, as such a long runtime would severely limit its theatrical possibilities. The aspect ratio, too, is undoubtedly an artistic choice that would not have been present on initial release. It’s a truly bizarre choice from Snyder – it makes the framing and blocking of many scenes

look strange and poorly shot, and renders every action scene lifeless and confusing.

These distracting choices, alongside the poor character motivations, inconsistent tone and dialogue, and inexcusably poor CGI, left me feeling very little other than regret for the four hours I’d spent in front of this film. Ultimately, the film’s biggest strength is its consistency – a consistency of which, while I found little to like from start to finish, others adore every frame. It is a fascinating development not just in the superherogenre, but on the film landscape as whole, and I am intrigued as to see where Warner Bros. and DC decide to take this franchise next.

ENTERTAINMENT | 33

Fashion

CBD IN SKINCARE DEPUTY FASHION EDITOR KAIA PURCELL GIVES US HER TOP TIPS ON HOW TO INTEGRATE CBD OIL AS A POWERFUL ADDITION TO OUR SKINCARE REGIMEN.

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annabidiol (a.k.a CBD) has taken the skincare industry by storm in recent times with a steady flow of new products containing the hottest ingredient of the moment - an active ingredient from the cannabis plant.

The number one question a lot of us have is whether or not CBD is safe to be used on skin firstly, and secondly why would we even bother using it in the first place?

CBD is one of the two active compounds in the cannabis plant, with the other part being THC (the psychoactive component of the plant more commonly known for its ability to make a person feel high). However,

1. ADDING THE OIL TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTS Maybe you are happy with the skincare routine you already have, if so you can try adding a couple of drops of CBD oil to your SPF or moisturiser in the morning for an extra boost without changing your products. You can also apply the oil directly to the skin in areas that you feel require a little more attention such as areas of discolouration, redness of breakouts.

Percentages of CBD oil strength range from 2.5% to 30% so be sure to ask for advice before purchasing (which you can do at most pharmacies or health stores).

2. BUY PRODUCTS THAT ALREADY CONTAIN CBD OIL If you want to try out the benefits for yourself, it might be a good idea to pick up products that are infused with CBD oil. There is such a huge variety of products to choose from - from face masks, moisturisers, serums and oils.

Holland and Barrett boast a wide range of products from night creams to soap and Revolution released a soothing serum to help combat dry skin using CBD oil. Do a little research online to find products that suit your skincare needs.

Trying out new skincare products and trialing new things can be fun and beneficial, however you should always be sure that you’re taking care of your skin in the process. Do a little patch test behind your ear with a new product and introduce new ingredients slowly to allow your skin time to adjust and

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the two elements in the cannabis plant vary: CBD does not have this effect on people, but rather possess the benefits of containing antioxidants and having the ability to alleviate anxiety and inflammation - and so is safe for use in an everyday skincare routine without the fear that you will become intoxicated in the A.M. when applying moisturiser.

As a naturally occurring oil that is rich in antioxidants, CBD is known to have many benefits when used in skincare. These include the ability to reduce inflammation of the skin, reducing irritation and redness, and there has also been a lot of hype around the use of CBD infused products for acne and soothing psoriasis. There are a few different options if you’re looking to add this seemingly superhero ingredient to your skincare routine, so let’s break it all down:

3. GO TO A DERMATOLOGIST Studies show that the benefits of this naturally occurring ingredient has the ability to seriously aid those suffering with acne and psoriasis - however, the strengths of the ingredient in the products available in pharmacies and health stores are mild in relation to what strength and dosage may be required to help with more severe cases. You should always speak with a professional to address issues like this before you begin dabbling in new products yourself.

to avoid overloading it. CBD oil seems to be sticking around for the foreseeable with new products popping up daily. hopefully being armed with a little bit of information will aid us in our skincare endeavours!

Consumerism

The Addiction of the Collective “ THE INTERNET IS ONLY FUELLING OUR CONSUMPTION ADDICTION.” KATE BISOGNO DISCUSSES THE PITFALLS OF OVERCONSUMPTION AND RETAIL ADDICTION IN A LATE-STAGE CAPITALIST SOCIETY AND HOW THEY CAST A GRIM SHADOW OVER OUR DAILY LIVES.

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nnecessary consumerism is something that we as a society are indisputably guilty of. For most, the high that comes with placing a spontaneous online order is unmatched. The feeling of admiring your purchases after a tiresome but worthwhile day of shopping is one of ecstasy.

Many people are no strangers to having a ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ moment, or partaking in some retail therapy but when do these moments of pleasure become addictions?

Are we victims of the drug that is consumerism?

There’s an undeniable truth to the term ‘retail therapy’. Shopping provides us with comfort. Due to the unpredictability of the pandemic and with high street shops shut as a result of lockdown, it is only natural for us to view online shopping as a form of consolation. The routine of online shopping and the knowledge of our package eventually arriving provides us with a sense of stability which is becoming increasingly scarce.

The more I think about consumerism and addiction in general, the more evident the parallels and similarities between the two become. Their most intrinsic commonality is the increase in dopamine they both provide us with. Without getting too scientific, dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released in the brain when we anticipate temporary pleasure. We begin to associate this feeling with certain actions or substances. Our dopamine levels are increased through alcohol, drugs and of course, shopping. When we are shopping, dopamine is set off in our brain as we anticipate ‘rewards’ in the form of bargains and purchases.

What if we could get double the dopamine hit in one purchase? That’s where online shopping comes in. Not only do we experience the rush of placing an order containing one too many pairs of jeans, we get a second feeling of ecstasy when the Fastway driver rings our doorbell. From the range of night out outfits we once used to stockpile to the surge in online shopping as a result of lockdown boredom - the internet is only fuelling our consumption addiction.

In time, the buzz we get from shopping becomes more important than the experience itself. We replicate a drug addict’s actions when we purchase clothes ‘just for the sake of it’. We acquire the mannerisms of an alcoholic when

ordering unnecessary items on Amazon. We are aware of these facts, yet we still consume. Why? The capitalist society in which we live encourages us to keep buying newer and ‘better’ items. We purchase more for fear of failing to meet capitalistic standards. We long for material items to fill a void in our lives.

Of course, the consequences of having a heroin addiction and a shopping addiction differ enormously. For fashion lovers, consumerism is a natural instinct. It’s almost unavoidable. Although I have drastically reduced the amount of shopping I do, I still have a Pinterest board dedicated to everything I want to (and will) purchase for the summer months. But there’s a fine line between a relatively harmless activity and an all-consuming (pun not intended) addiction.

We buy material items in the hope of obtaining emotional satisfaction, yet most of the time are unsuccessful.

Automatically seeking happiness through purchasing a new outfit may provide momentary satisfaction, but yet again the ever present issues are ignored. The pattern then repeats. It’s a vicious cycle that is inherently linked to capitalism - trends fade, and we instinctively seek more. Perhaps we should seek excitement in the items we already possess, and the next time a Pretty Little Thing ad lands in your inbox; resist the temptation. It isn’t solely the environment that they’re ruining, they aren’t doing wonders for your mental state either.

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Night Moves Photography by Grace Claro Model: Elin Jernström

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Sixties Counterculture and

Psychedelic Fashion MOTLEY FASHION EDITOR GRACE CLARO TAKES A TRIP BACK TO THE 1960S WHEN THE WORLD BECAME ENTRANCED BY THE PSYCHEDELIC CRAZE IN ART, MUSIC, AND FASHION. The 1960s was a decade of political upheaval and social justice agitation with the Space Race, the Civil Rights movement in America, and the Vietnam War. Counterculture and hippie movements rose to prominence in the 1960s as the children of the WWII generation blossomed into adulthood and began to question societal structures through active engagement in protest, music, and art. The psychedelic movement also known as Psychedelia, can be characterized by its frequent use of bright, contrasting colors and typeset fonts which twist, balloon and distort almost to the point of illegibility. Technicolour paisley prints inspired by eastern textiles and bright florals became all the rage.

The overall aesthetic was designed to emulate the visual sensorium associated with recreationally used psychoactive drugs such as LSD and psilocybin. Artists such as Janis Joplin, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix became icons of the psychedelic movement and are known for embracing the boldly innovative styles and fashions associated with this era.

Psychedelic drugs such as LSD which have intense hallucinogenic and psychoactive properties were popularized for recreational use during this era. It was an age before large-scale governmental action was taken to prohibit and criminalize the sale and use of psychoactive substances such as LSD, psilocybin, and cannabis. They were used freely without much fear of incrimination. The

Swiss pharmacist Albert Hoffman first discovered the drug’s hallucinative and perception altering effects in 1943 having ingested a small amount of the substance on what is referred to as ‘Bicycle Day’ in pop cultural spheres. On his bicycle ride home that evening, Hoffman noticed that LSD induced a ‘dreamlike’ state wherein he perceived ‘fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colour.’ Little did he know that the impact of this discovery would lead to a transformation of art and popular culture just two decades later.

ART

Historians trace the origins of the psychedelic movement in art and fashion back to the ‘Belle Epoque’ or Art Nouveau movement. Stylized aesthetics which combined beauty with functionality while emphasising a superfluity of detail and cursive inscriptions were characteristic of this artistic movement. Concert posters were designed in this way so as to attract attention and to draw concertgoers. Artists were commissioned to design innovative and colourful posters which drew from comic book illustrations and surrealist art in order to create trippily-enticing visuals which would reflect the overall tone and feeling of the music of the day.

The Californian Wes Wilson (1937-2020) was a major figure in the psychedelic movement and is considered one of the most influential designers of the 1960s psychedelic movement. He is known for creating the so-called psychedelic font which was popularised in the mid 60s and is easily recognisable by letters that give

the impression that they are melting and melding together as though made of liquid. Psychedelic art took inspiration directly from Art Nouveau, replicating the curved shapes, female figures and details such as flowers and garlands, and amped up the intensity. Colour contrasts were a key feature in the psychedelic movement, bold neon greens blues and hot pinks and oranges were boldly contrasted in psychedelic posters and clothing styles. Psychedelic art was essentially Art Nouveau on acid. This attraction to high tonal vibrancy and wild colour combinations was directly influenced by the dizzying visual effects experienced during psychedelic drug ‘highs’.

MUSIC

1967 is fondly remembered by many as the year of the so-called ‘Summer of Love.’ The year 1967 also saw the release of the Beatles’ eighth studio album, ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ which spent a record twenty-seven weeks at number one in the UK chart and fifteen weeks at number one on Billboard. The album and its aesthetic, including the costumes worn by the band members Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison consolidated the mood and exuberant feeling of the decade. Following the success of ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ The Beatles released an EP entitled ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ in December 1967. The EP was released along with a television film of the same name. ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was an exploration of psychedelic and experimental sound. Both the film and EP received mixed reviews from its critics. The Beatles also publicized their forays into Transcendental Meditation under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ EP featured several hit singles such as ‘Hello Goodbye’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever.’

In August 1969 Woodstock music festival was billed as ‘An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music.’ An estimated 400,000 festival-goers attended the three day event held on the grounds of Max Yasgur’s Farm in Bethel, NY. Major artists of the decade such as Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, and The Who played to the crowds at Woodstock, cementing their careers and legendary status as artists. Woodstock is remembered as one of the

greatest music festivals of all time.

FASHION

Fashion during the ‘Woodstock’ era consisted of crocheted tops, admiral style coats worn with cravates, popularised by the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, leather waistcoats, and suede tassel jackets. Embroidery was a popular aesthetic of the day with flower motifs being a common addition to garments.

The Free Love generation also embraced their own skin as more ‘naturalist’ styles and nudity became a sign of rebellion and anti-establishment political stances. The Beatles’ 1967 aesthetic of full moustaches, long hair over the ears and of course the iconic rose tinted glasses worn by John Lennon typified the psychedelic look. The band members themselves revealed that they experimented with altered consciousness in the creation of their late 60s sound.

The ‘hippie generation’ exercised their dissent for the modernisation of society and the cruel mechanisms of war. Broadcasted in full colour, footage beamed across the world of the atrocities carried out on civilians during the Vietnam War shocked millions of Americans and led them to question the moral consequences of US involvement in overseas conflict. Art and expression offered the disillusioned youth a means of exploring difficult themes and expounding the social injustices of their time. The psychedelic movement and the hippie way of life offered a colourful escape from the grim realization of the political and social injustices witnessed during the mid 20th century period.

The psychedelic style can still be seen today as emulated by musical artists such as Tame Impala,Drugdealer, Glass Animals, Harry Styles and Parcels among others. Artists such as Tyler Spangler and @inktally on Instagram have also contributed to a resurgence of the psychedelic style as a retro aesthetic which is being embraced by a new generation of young people in 21st century popular culture.

Spring/Summer '21 Trend Forecast SPRING IS FINALLY UPON US AND AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO BRIGHTER DAYS, SARAH COLLINS IS HERE TO TELL US WHAT TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS SEASON.

I

t’s that time of the year again! Brighter, warmer, and longer days are on the horizon which means it’s time to put away our winter wardrobe and start introducing lighter layers for Spring/Summer 2021. Although we are in the midst of a global pandemic, designers amazed us this season with digital showcases whilst others decided to host presentations with a small group of press and buyers. The trends for Spring/Summer this year are super wearable and versatile, and the great thing is, you may already have a few pieces in your wardrobe. Although I know we may be stuck at home for a little while longer, you can still put on a pretty outfit for online college or that important Zoom meeting, and make yourself feel like you are on top of the world!

Trench Coats

The ever so chic trench coat, which many of us own in our wardrobe, is back and better than ever this season!

This style is very much still on-trend in neutral hues, however, we are seeing puffier sleeves and oversized silhouettes now reaching ankle length rather than to the knees as was favoured in previous seasons. The best part about trench coats is that they are versatile: light enough to wear in Spring/ Summer with hoodies, or a sweatshirt in the evening when it gets chilly outside.

Max Mara, Louis Vuitton and Nina Ricci produced some beautiful trench coats this season and Victoria Beckham stuck to a practical and elegant uniform in her Spring/ Summer show and her patch pocket trench coat was to die for!

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Vests

Yes, that’s right, sweater vests aren’t going anywhere, so don't put them into the back of your wardrobe just yet! Vests and tanks have been on my style radar for a while now, and let’s be honest, these ones are much more modern, trendy, and elegant than the ones your grandfather wears. Worn over midi dresses, poplin shirts, or a collared top, it's a trend that's as cosy and comfortable as it is chic. We saw vests appear at the Louis Vuitton and Coach shows and they were infinitely chic and classy. I have spotted some vests on H&M and Zara that won’t break the bank and you’ll be able to transition them into your Autumn/Winter wardrobe when the time comes.

Monochrome

This trend is so incredibly easy yet so powerful at the same time. For years, monochrome was synonymous with wearing black and white. However, as we saw worn by many of the United States of America presidential inauguration attendees including Jennifer Lopez and the Biden granddaughters, this season's monochrome trend is in no way limited to black and white or neutral colours! Floral caps, and boucle jackets were among the vibrant monochrome looks seen on the Chanel runway. The French fashion house was in great company, with Dolce & Gabbana popularizing chequerboard mini dresses and Gabriela Hearst opted for a black and white midi with an interesting vertical split.

Head Scarves

The head scarf is the must have accessory to have in your wardrobe this season.

There are various colours, prints, fabrics, and style choices to choose from while wrapping it around your head and they are going to be perfect for those bad hair days that we all have from time to time. Head scarves can complete any simple, casual look and they are also super versatile as you can wrap it around your neck and hang it off a bag as an accessory! I must say channeling your inner Grace Kelly has never been easier with this classic go-to item.

The Take-Away

This season's looks have been highly inspired by some of the most influential decades and I am loving every single one of them. So even if we are stuck at home for the next few months, throw on your favourite outfit, put on a bit of makeup and rock up to that zoom meeting or lecture feeling and looking your very best.

THE PROFESSOR'S PEN DR. MIRANDA CORCORAN

Marginalisation & Criminalisation A VICIOUS SYMBIOSIS MIRANDA CORCORAN MUSES ON THE UNEQUAL CRIMINAL ASSERTIONS OF DRUG USE, AND THE NEED FOR A HOLISTIC, LEGAL, SOCIAL AND MEDICAL APPROACH TO MODERN DRUG POLICY.

I

’ve always suspected that this column would be the hardest to write, not because I have had a difficult personal experience with drugs, but because I have had precisely zero experiences with drugs. Although I’ve been to quite a few places where certain narcotics have been legalised or decriminalised (California, the Netherlands, etc.), I’ve never taken any. In secondary school and college, I was quiet and introverted. I didn’t go out very often, and for the most part, I never actually encountered the opportunity to try any kind of illegal drugs. The closest I came was in fifth year when an older guy asked me to go smoke pot with him before school.

I walked with him to the top of a deserted laneway before panicking and running back to the school building. Since then, I’ve gotten to a point where some of the medications I take prevent me from even drinking alcohol. Around two years ago, I had a glass of prosecco with my partner to celebrate our anniversary, and I ended up shuffling around in a zombified state for a whole week afterwards. As such, it seems as though drugs will be off the table for the immediate future (although, my daily caffeine intake could, theoretically, fuel the entire student body through summer exams).

I lack personal investment in the drug issue, but I am profoundly aware that this is a luxury on my part. So many individuals have been touched by addiction and abuse or suffered disproportionately harsh penalties for drug possession. I’ve never been in a position to give drugs a huge amount of consideration (aside from those times when, as an academic, I need to write or teach about the truly mind boggling quantities of Benzedrine and LSD involved in the

literary output of the 1950s/1960s counterculture). That being said, I’ve never viewed narcotics use as a moral concern, and I’m sceptical about our current legal approach to the matter.

Criminal convictions for drug users do little to address issues of drug dependency, nor do they serve as a particularly effective deterrent. Moreover, the criminalisation of narcotics mostly targets and disadvantages already marginalised groups.

The primary outcome of the “War on Drugs” that has been waged in the United States since the 1970s has been the further disenfranchisement of minority groups and the poor. Although white Americans use drugs at a statistically similar rate as their Black counterparts, African Americans nevertheless comprise 55% of all those arrested for drug possession and 74% of those imprisoned for the same (ACLU position paper). Harsher penalties and longer prison sentences are regularly doled out to those already disadvantaged by racism and poverty. Likewise, the criminalisation of narcotics does little to address or effectively treat addiction.

The focus on carceral solutions to drug use and abuse means that addicts receive punishment rather than treatment. I’m not entirely sure what effective decriminalisation would look, nor am I certain of how we could respond to drug use/abuse in a manner that does not continue to harm marginalised groups. I’m also not entirely sure that I am the person to ask. Creating a new framework to regulate drug use would inevitably be a mammoth task, one that would require not only the input of legal experts but also medical professionals, social workers and community activists. The manner in which both our society and our justice system treat drug use is a conversation we desperately need to have, but for some reason, it’s an issue we mostly choose to remain silent on.

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Societies Spotlight Irina Fernandes, Societies Executive PRO In the past couple weeks....

Sci-Fi's 24hr live stream: The UCC Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy and

Economics and AKA Block Chain's Investment challenge: Economics

Society's

Annual

Investment

Challenge

consists of two Phases. In Phase 1, students trading on an online platform using virtual funds. Our aims for this event is to allow students to put into practice; the theoretical and technical knowledge they learn from their degrees. Phase 2 of the challenge shortlists the students with the most profitable portfolios and requires them to present their trade strategy in front of a judging panel of industry experts for the grand prize.

Anime Society recently held a 24 hour charity livestream on the streaming platform Twitch. 7 societies were involved including MTU's Sci-Fi Society, UCC WARPS, UCC Co-Operative, UCC Scribble, UCC Musical Theatre, and UCC Film. Our original goal was to raise €150 for the Lauralynn Children's Hospice, but we ended up massively exceeding that goal with a grand total of €3,490.69 being raised. It was a great collaboration with a variety of societies pulling together and doing several events all for a good cause!

Battle of the Bands! This annual event by Music Society is a staple in the Socs calendar! 5 bands complete for one of 3 spaces in the

Future events to keep an eye on: AGMs: Your favourite societies will be holding their elections soon and you'll have the opportunity to join your favourite societies!

Societies Executive AGM: Similarly to the societies AGMs, the executive will also be holding their executive elections in April where you will be able to join the representative body of societies in UCC! contact Adam at president@uccsocieties.ie to learn more about the election process.

final. Each band has a video of their original song uploaded onto Music Soc's FB. The winner receives studio time at a value of 600 Euro, kindly sponsored by Blackwater Studios and our infamous BOTB trophy!

Name: Maeve Richardson Pronouns: she/her Position: Trainings & Sustainability Officer What do you do in college?

Stare blankly at a screen mostly.

What Societies were/are you involved with? I have been involved in International Relations, Europa, LGBTQ and Government & Politics. GovPol is the one I’ve been on the longest serving as chairperson and a few other positions!

Favourite memory of Societies? Politics Ball when I was chair of GovPol! Great speeches, music and people, the year before was a disaster so it was a relief it went well.

After dinner where no one had gotten on the dance floor yet and everyone on committee ran onto the dance floor and everyone joined in! It was a cute moment: especially seeing the shyer people leading the charge. From that moment alone you could see how much confidence people had gained over the year.

What’s your number one tip for staying sane while working/studying from home? Get outside and get fresh air! It can be so easy to go straight from your desk to you bed. Going out for a walk will make you feel a 44 | MARCH million times better. 2021

Meet the Executive

It’s fast-paced, rewarding

and so much more than I imagined.

Graduate Area Manager Programme • €61,000 starting salary rising to €102,850 • Pension • Healthcare • BMW 3 series The Area Manager programme is fast paced. Not many employers would ask you to run a €multi-million business after 15 weeks.

But we trust you’ve got what it takes – confidence, humility and determination. And we trust that you want more, just like us. It’s how you’ll get the best out of yourself, and your teams. But you’ll have plenty of support along the way. With helpful colleagues and your own mentor, you’ll quickly learn everything there is to know and become a great leader. So with ongoing development from day one, a career with Aldi really can take you anywhere.

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