Too many parents were ignoring the reality that their children were experimenting with drugs, Philomena Lynott, the mother of rock star Phil Lynott who died from drug misuse, told a conference yesterday.
"We have to stop the killing of our young children. Too many parents are saying 'not my child, my child is not using drugs'," Ms Lynott said.
She urged parents to talk to their children, and not to leave it to the school or teacher.
Referring to recent EU-wide surveys, Ms Lynott said the situation in this country was getting worse.
It was a complex problem; it had been growing for decades and it needed a "much more long-term fix".
"Our kids are getting hooked younger and younger. Our future is dying before our very eyes. I don't know where it's all going to end," Ms Lynott said.
"When Philip died I was so ashamed he died of drugs. I am personally scared of needles . . . How my son could have injected himself, I will never know. I will never get over losing him," said Ms Lynott, who broke down during her address.
Yet "he took his own life by taking the drugs," she said. Ms Lynott said she would always love Philip. "I just wish the drugs hadn't been around at the time."
She began getting on with her life after years of grief, when she met a mother in a cemetery whose three children had died in the Stardust tragedy. (On St Valentine's Night, 1981, in Dublin 48 young people died in a disco inferno.)
Years ago, young people were introduced to a Woodbine and a pint by their parents in public houses. However, now the introduction was to a "spliff", and a lot of drug abuse was taking place at private parties in houses and this was particularly so since the smoking ban in pubs, she warned after an address which received sustained applause.
Dublin City councillor Mick Rafferty said a fifth strategy, that of supporting families, alongside the accepted strategy of tackling supply, demand, justice and education, was urgently needed in tackling drug misuse.
"Family support is needed. I can't emphasise enough the need for that strategy," he said.