What’s The Story?

This is a story of fun and adventure, of heartbreak, of mistakes and achievement. For me it begins sometime in 1980 with discussions with Mara de Lacy about drugs in Seán Mc Dermot St., which were under my nose, but I couldn’t see. We plotted to do something about it. Luckily for me the then Jesuit Provincial, Joe Dargan, gave me the job of initiating something new in the field, largely because the Jesuits worldwide, under Pedro Arrupe, our worldwide leader was drawing all our attentions to the problem at that time. 6 weeks in Coolmine as a full resident, the first non-drug user to be admitted, cut my teeth. A 6-month placement in the Centre Medical Marmottan in Paris put my feet under me. This specialised non-opiate based detoxification centre, started in 1971 under the direction of Dr. Claude Olievenstein is where the use of Lofexidine was pioneered, was groundbreaking in its day and has remained so....