Dublin needs a 'critical' response to the use of weed in the city, a campaigner has said.

It comes after a radio presenter suggested people openly smoking cannabis on the streets of the capital ‘have no respect’ for their fellow citizens.

Today FM presenter Shelly Gray earlier told Newstalk Breakfast that the constant smell of weed in the city has gotten “significantly worse this year alone”.

She said she hates to “be the person who comes on national radio to complain” - but people need to be called out.

“The smell of weed – it was just everywhere," she said.

“I came out of Holland and Barrett – the health shop – and right in front of me there were three lads having a great time watching the busker just openly smoking joints and just blowing it straight into my face.”

Help not Harm Director Graham de Barra told The Hard Shoulder nearly every major city has the same issue.

"It's not just unique to Dublin; I think [in] any high dense city there's going to be an overflow of odours and behaviours that people may not agree with," he said.

"I definitely do think as someone who wishes to have chidden in the future - we have a lot of young parents and they may not want their kids exposed to public drug use.

"I think what's really important, though, is to not react emotionally to a problem and to try and come at it critically".

'Consumption and sale of cannabis'

Mr de Barra said Dublin could look to other cities for solutions to its weed problem.

"I'm currently in The Hague in the Netherlands and I've been talking to [people] here on this question," he said.

"They say you don't really see public cannabis smoking so much.

"There is obviously a problem with high-density apartment blocks and people do have overflow there so there maybe some complaints.

"Overall there's so many coffee shops that are specialising in allowing the consumption and sale of cannabis, it's really a non-issue."

Mr de Barra said one man he spoke to has never taken cannabis and neither have his friends.

"It's just interesting that the evidence would suggest that having an availability, certainly in places, doesn't necessarily mean there'll be an increase in use," he said.

"It certainly prevents the problem that was identified there this morning".

'Move away from criminalisation'

Mr de Barra said he believes regulation is what is needed to address the issue.

"The Netherlands have realised it as well - it's not just coffee shops - they're now piloting legalisation in nine cities... and six Netherlands companies have been designated to cultivate this cannabis," he said.

"You look at a city like Lisbon where they opened a drug consumption room three years ago they designated a smoking area for crack cocaine and for hash smoking.

"Locals there didn't actually agree with it at the time and after they spent €1.5m creating this centre... the mothers and parents bringing their kids to school realised there's less drug paraphernalia on the streets."

Mr de Barra added that it is "time for action now" and "at the very least we should move away from criminalisation".

Help not Harm is a campaign supporting a shift of drugs from criminal justice to public health to improve access to harm reduction, education and treatment.

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