Broadcast Details: Sunday 21st October, 9.30pm
Dublin footballer Philly McMahon draws from personal experience to explore the underbelly of illicit drug use and makes the case for decriminalisation in Ireland.
6 times All-Ireland winning Dublin footballer Philly McMahon is on a mission to change attitudes to drugs and drug addiction. His older brother John was a heroin user and died after a long battle with addiction in 2012. In this very personal and moving documentary Philly explores the underbelly of drug addiction and he makes a case for decriminalising drugs in Ireland.
Since John’s death, Philly has been travelling the country campaigning for decriminalisation, as well as mentoring young people and encouraging them away from drug use. We see him training prisoners in Mountjoy jail – amongst them lads he grew up with in Ballymun. He speaks with his parents about the heartbreak and stigmatisation of having an addict in the family, and travels to Portugal to see how new laws have transformed that country’s relationship with drugs. Philly also interviews people still struggling with addiction, as well as other parents who have lost their children to drugs.